When I applied to Fairfield almost two years ago, I sent my application in with an intention to major in Biology. I wanted to become a Physician Assistant. It sounded like the perfect job for me; not a doctor but not a nurse, an ability to learn multiple specializations and more flexibility. I loved watching Doctor Pimple Popper videos and hoped to go into Dermatology. I had it all planned out.
However, during my senior year of high school I took AP Biology. Now it was an interesting class, but it was incredibly hard. I realized that I could not handle the amount of science classes I had to take with a Biology major. If I was struggling with this, imagine how college science classes would be. I decided to switch my major from Biology to Public Health. I did absolutely no research on what a Public Health major would entail, I just figured it would be the same as health sciences. I was wrong.
The summer before my first semester at Fairfield I would research the different accommodations to help me achieve my goal of becoming a PA. At school I joined the Health Professions Program and the PA club. Since I was technically a Public Health major I had to take both Anatomy and Physiology and a Public Health introduction class.
That first month of school, I was miserable. I absolutely hated anatomy. I dreaded going to class. I was completely uninterested by the subject itself. The public health class was just as uninteresting for me, as well. How could I become a PA if I was so uninterested in science? The answer was simple: maybe the medical field just was not for me. Maybe, it was not my dream. Physician Assistant sounds nice on paper, but it was not in my cards. I liked the sound of it. I liked how it made me look “smart” when I told people about my plans for the future. I enjoyed the feeling of impressing family members and family friends. I wanted to make my family proud of me. I felt that entering the medical field would achieve all of that. However, deep down it made me miserable and upset. So, what was my dream?
I decided to unenroll from the Public Health major, and I changed to Undeclared College of Arts and Sciences. I had always had a deep interest in the humanities. More specifically, history and writing. Growing up I was heavily interested in different historical events. My dad and I would watch documentaries for fun, and even now I still enjoy a good historical documentary.
As I got older I started to realize how I excelled at my history classes, and how it came to me so easily. I used to wish that math and science came easy to me like history and English did. I had a great history teacher in high school who broadened my love for the subject.
On top of my love for history, I had a great appreciation for literature. I have always been a heavy reader, ever since I was a little girl. I find it so easy to get lost in a book. Since I read so much, my imagination was always active. I was constantly creating little stories and writing them down in journals. Writing happens to be one of my favorite pastimes. I find it so calming to journal at night before I go to sleep; just jotting my thoughts down made me happy.
In October of that year, I had realized that my passion was not science or the medical field, but it was the art of writing and the study of history that engaged me the most. Yes, science is interesting and scientists are incredible, but it just was never for me.
I decided to take classes that encaptured my true interests. I began to look forward to going to class in the morning because of how interesting they were. Just recently I made the decision to declare a double major in History and English. I chose to follow my interests rather than what I thought I was interested in. I realized that I was only hurting myself by trying to study something that didn’t engage me.
Following my passions has made me a happier student. Yes, the work will always be hard, but it is rewarding in the end. At least I am getting something out of what I am learning now, rather than taking courses that I dislike.
My advice, to you my reader, would be to major in something that sparks interest and curiosity in your mind. If you are interested in math, go for it! If you are interested in computers and technology, follow that interest! I truly believe that we will all find our careers, and maybe even make our dreams come true, if we don’t hold back and learn what we want to learn.
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