September is already here and classes are in full swing. Coming off of freshman year, sophomore year is a whole new ballgame. I am very involved this year again, being the Student Government Association secretary, a Resident Assistant, and a member of several clubs on campus. I stay very busy, but it’s a good busy.
As many know, I changed my major about two weeks before school started. I was a Business Administration major with a marketing concentration but have sinced decided that my passion is working with kids. For the past two summers, I have been blessed to babysit four wonderful kids and watching them learn and grow just over the summer is such a happy thing for me. As I was sitting at the kitchen counter with the youngest of these kids (3 years old at the time), we were working on sign language. I took a sign language class this summer and taught the kids I babysat a little of what I would learn every week. As I watched the youngest spell her name back to me in sign language, it hit me how fulfilling it is to help someone learn and be successful. That moment was the defining change in my mind.
I am not the only person who has an internal struggle about what they want to do with their lives. But last year, it seemed like I was. Everyone that I talked to had some moment in their lives that helped them decide that they were going down the right career path. I had never experienced that moment, and became very frustrated with the classes I was taking last year. But I didn’t change my major, because I wasn’t confident in what I would change to and didn’t want to lose what I had already started as far as business classes.
This summer, I had that moment. So I’m here to say to all of the high school seniors, the college freshmen, sophomores, or even juniors that you will have a moment at some point. I would say to be on the lookout for it, but mine hit me out of nowhere. When that moment comes, and you make the switch, you will know immediately if it was the right decision. For me, I was able to immediately enroll in a lower level education course. It’s already my favorite class. I come to class so excited and eager to learn. I leave barely able to contain the happiness I feel about choosing this career. And that’s how I know it was the right choice.
So if you’re anything like I was and you feel lost and unsure about if you’re making the right choice, maybe take a step back and evaluate not just with your head, but with your heart, if it’s what you want to do. Check yourself: do you feel that excitement when you think about it? Are you eager to start on it? If not, I encourage you to explore some other topics outside of the classroom to find things that are fulfilling to you and make you feel that excitement.
One last thing, talk to someone about the struggle. I talked to my friends constantly about how I felt taking the business classes. When I told them I thought I was going to switch to elementary education, they supported me 100% and were so encouraging. That was another reason I knew I had made the right choice. If you talk to people about it, they can help you figure out what things you enjoy doing and they can help guide you and encourage you when you need that reassurance. Remember, we all go through this.
