Picking a Major

Fellow students, there is hope.  If you are like how I was when I first came to college, with no idea what I was to do with my life/schooling/career, I'm telling you now that it will happen. I can say this with confidence because I have had quite the journey.  Let's start with that.
When I was 14 years old, I discovered design shows on TV. And I fell in love.  I wanted to be an interior designer.  When I got to BYU, I was uncertain with how I was to accomplish this career goal, the Interior Design program no longer offered at BYU.  Originally, I planned on just doing the Music program and going to LDSBC for getting my Interior Design degree. Then I realized that the BYU Music program=death.  I thought that I was one of those really devoted music people, but compared to those people, I'm not even close.  That's why it's now my minor.
What to do next? what. to. do.  It's practical to go the business management course, then LDSBC for Interior Design, that way I can get the business aspect of the trade.  So I gave it a semester.  In a word, that was heck.  Statistics AND economics? What was I thinking?  I know so many people who love that and get that, but it turns out I'm not one of them. At all.
Next.
I left the country for 4 months. The cultural and informational download that I experienced there threw my major decision into a frenzy.  Like someone kicked a bees' nest.  I still loved architecture and the buildings in Europe are all so beautiful.  Continue with Interior Design? I discovered a love for art.  Art History?  I love to travel and to be emmersed in new cultures. International Relations?  Anthropology?  I spent a whole afternoon with Annie planning my schedule around Industrial Design.  After looking at the requirements and seeing multiple Physics and Calculus classes, my mind quickly changed again.
I had a summer to think about it.  I'm a Junior now. I've GOT to make a decision, already.
I took a class online for English.  I like to write. I love to read.  Can't go wrong with English, right?  Right, as it turns out.
And I LOVED it.  I still love it.  (See previous blog post)
The end.

Moral of the story and my advise to you: do what you love. Cut the practicality crap. Who cares if I'm going to have to go to grad school in order to really go anywhere with this with what I want to do?  And I can still decorate things, just not for a career.

STEPS TO ACQUIRING THE RIGHT MAJOR FOR YOU:

1. Whatever school you're at or currently interested in attending, print out or acquire a list of majors offered at the school.  Then go to town with process of elimination, baby.  Get a color-coated rating system down.  Highlight in different colors which ones you are definitely interested in, then use a different color for possible majors and then cross out the ugly, no-good-for-you majors.  Just get 'em outta the way.  Trust me, this helps.  Do this after each semester, too, because you're choices will most likely change a little bit.

2. Make lists.  Things that you're good at.  Things that you suck at.  Things that you could see yourself doing.  Things that you love to do for fun.  Let it loose, don't be shy or humble.  In fact, play your skills up as much as you can.  No one's going to read this. You discover lots about yourself.

3. If you're already in college, go to the advisement center.  Those people are literal professionals at this.

4. Start with General Ed classes.  They have such a wide range of subjects, you're bound to find a class that you like the most.  Annnnnd the classes that you don't like so much. 

5. Be open-minded.  I continually had English in the back of my mind, but I pushed it back (stupid practicality).  Go out and learn new things.  Don't do what you did in high school and stick with the people/activities/classes that everyone else did.  You are your own person and no one else can make this decision for you, so don't do what everyone else is doing.  Go to a play or musical.  Visit an art museum.  Take a ceramics or raquetball.  Get involved with a club on campus.  You can only discover what you're really good at by trying lots of different things.  Hey, you WILL find out what you're bad at, too. Plus, it makes for a fun college experience.

6. Trust yourself.  There's a reason you are where you are or you're going where you're going.

Good luck!