Majors Hold A More Important Value Than Just Jobs

“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius

In college, we have possibly the most vast and infinite number of choices to make in our lives; almost each one just as important as the other, and important altogether in determining the rest of our lives. Some people make a great deal of choices, while others might make the fewest they can; but the leading feature that remains as the first and foremost decision, is choosing a major.

A major isn’t just a choice we should simply or impulsively make in order to graduate, as it may define the rest of our life. However, too many common factors come into play that can make choosing a major quite perplexing — factors such as income, popularity, other’s opinions, and job placement rates– often hindering people’s will to do what they truly want. Many people today may be going in an expensive and stressful direction based on the outcome of a major, rather than their true passion.

Passion over profit should be considered by everyone as something to keep in mind before contemplating a major, but it doesn’t appear this notion is truly recognized as important. The ACT 2013 College Choice Report derives their studies on a great many students that voiced their opinions and thoughts on making one of the most important decisions of their careers, that of their major.

One of the studies found that only 36 percent of students actually planned to major in a topic that fits their interests. Additionally, 50 percent of students chose majors based on the ones that were most available throughout colleges. Maybe this is why 80 percent of college students end up changing their major at least once, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Still, with the large amount of students that impulsively choose an unfitting major, and a large, but not sufficient enough amount of those that switch because of this mistake, there are still many students that never change majors, continuing towards the wrong path.

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I was one of the many people who changed majors. I was originally going towards a major my parents thought would fit me, but what felt like an appropriate direction soon turned into blunder of oversight that had me feeling as if I was at a dead end I couldn’t turn away from. An underlying true passion of mine thankfully came forth, just in time for me to realize what I actually needed to do. And after doing just that, I am now doing daily things that relate to the new major I have, and I couldn’t be more excited.

Writing came to me naturally in college, and I plan to write as long as I live, or until the world is somehow ever at peace. Writing helps me express my thoughts, communicate to a wide range of people I wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach, and share my ideas to help shape the world. I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life, and feel a sense of fulfillment being able to write it down.

However, my newfound path was not all that easy to obtain. When I first brought up my desire to go towards writing, I got many opposing viewpoints from either false interpretations of who I was, or reinforced statements that making it as a writer is a challenge that is not worth it. I knew that I was willing to handle a bigger challenge, if it meant I would be able to do something I thoroughly enjoyed and felt right about.

And I knew I wasn’t the only one that, despite a confusing situation of what to actually do, still followed their instincts and ended up conquering a life path thought to be unpractical for them. Likewise, I feel as though some luck was involved when I changed my major. The timing and acknowledgement of my chance to switch majors was perfect, and if I had tried to change my major any later than I did, my path would have become practically impossible.

My grandmother embodies someone that chose to follow her dream, no matter what obstructed her dedication towards it, and still continues to do what she loves today. She is a prime example of why it’s important to find our interests as early as possible, to lead a happy life where we have a clearer path to go. My grandmother has always been a painter, and even though she could have stopped painting if she wanted to ages ago, she continues painting today. She says painting defines her and inspires her in life, and that’s why she plans to continue painting forever. My grandmother also had a very important quality: persistence. And if she hadn’t followed through with her intentions she would not be as content as she is today.

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In college, some of us are going to feel pressured to choose a certain major at least once, whether from what others are doing, people’s expectations of us, or from society’s standards. Pressure to work towards something that will forever change our life is possibly the most perplexing kind to experience. Some people choose benefits, such as money, over their happiness. Others may know their true passion, but are held back from opposing viewpoints on their dreams.

But the truth is, we should do what we love, as nothing can guide us more through life than pursuing a path that makes us happy, and gives us a sense of fulfillment. My grandmother faced a common obstacle that many typically encounter today. When expressing her interest to pursue an art career, her advisor blatantly told her that she would absolutely not make a living from art. She then obtained a degree in art history and found that she really couldn’t make a living from art history without a PhD.

Had that advisor still been alive today, I am sure he would feel quite ashamed, as my grandmother still sells her art today, and is as happy as she is successful. She says, “When something is really important to you, you find a way to do it, regardless of what stands in your way.” And with that powerful belief, my grandmother got into a graduate school in art, where she thrived and obtained a teaching credential. As well as this, she took every art class she had the opportunity to take, so she could expand her skills in the field of art education. For anyone, studying all mediums of a field is important to strengthen what you’re already interested in.

While she still faced other challenges throughout her path to her art career goal — challenges such as revealing her emotions through her art and who she really is to strangers; having people that simply did not understand how to interpret her art and those that didn’t like it — she soon also found those that loved it and bought her work, which advanced her career so well that she still succeeds in it today. Her happiness and self-fulfillment from her choice in life is worth so much more than if she had done something different that would “be easier,” or “make her more money.”

You should never choose majors you are not more than passionate about due to desired outcomes that do not directly correspond to happiness, because chances are, you will be much happier doing a job you love in the long run. We shouldn’t be constantly miserable to live in the real world, and we should enjoy the jobs we do to some degree, considering they will be a huge part of our lives after college. You wouldn’t want to date someone that you didn’t like being around because of their extreme success over someone you cherish every moment with that was still successful. You also wouldn’t want to date someone that someone else wanted you to date, because that wouldn’t be fair to what you truly desire.