Every fall, millions of high school seniors like me are asked to make one of the biggest decisions of their lives: choosing a college major.
It seems simple enough—we just need to do something that we love! But I’ve always found it a little unfair that we’re expected to know what we want to do for the rest of our lives at the wise, seasoned age of seventeen. Frankly, I don’t even know what I want to pack for lunch, let alone what my 10-year plan is.
My dad always jokes that he’s 62 years old and still doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. My fellow students and I feel the same way. We’re all still finding our path.
The numbers prove it too. Estimates vary, but a minimum of 30% of college students change their major at least once before they graduate. That means almost a third of people who thought they had it all planned out later realized they wanted something different. To me, that shows how unfair it is to demand certainty from us right now.
Of course, college isn’t the only road. Trade schools, apprenticeships, the military or even taking time off to work and figure things out are all completely valid paths. Success doesn’t mean a four-year degree, and pretending there’s only one path to the juncture only puts more pressure on already stressed students.
So to any teens reading this: it’s okay not to know yet. Your first choice doesn’t have to be your final choice. In fact, it probably won’t be.
This fall, I’m going to be applying to colleges. But throughout the process, I’m going to keep in mind that this decision doesn’t bind me to one future, but rather it opens the door to many.
