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001 Do you know the fairy tale of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”?Goldilocks entered the house of the three bears. There, she tried Papa Bear’s porridge, and it was too hot. Mama Bear’s was too cold. But Baby Bear’s was just right, so she ate it all up. Thus, essentially, she committed the crime of burglary and grabbed a full serving of food belonging to an innocent child. Shame on her!
02 Interestingly, the plot in this fairy tale is very similar to my experience in choosing my college major. It took me three tries as well to find a major and a career that I loved and that fit me. For many of us, it can be a very lengthy process of self-discovery before we realize what we want to do and what we are really passionate about.
03 Believe it or not, engineering was my high school version of a future career. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? I, currently a writer who does nothing with numbers, wanted to be an engineer during my high school years! At that time, it truly made sense, though. I was extremely obsessed with the magnificence of massive engineering structures. I would wander the streets of Boston gazing up at the skyscrapers in awe, and I was so fascinated by roller coasters in the theme parks. I was good at math and was doing well with the advanced math classes, but when it was time to decide whether or not to take the AP (Advanced Placement) math course in high school, I hesitated. Why? I lacked confidence and knew there was a chance I wouldn’t succeed.
04 I started questioning my decision to become an engineer, so the first semester at college, I took the introductory engineering math class to confirm or disprove my doubt – whether I have a talent for engineering. Well, I struggled. Not just “I’m having trouble with this chapter” kind of struggle. The concepts were simply beyond me. My math level was fairly advanced in high school, but at college I found I wasn’t up to par. I struggled so much that I dropped the course and gave up my high school dream– to become an engineer. The porridge was too hot! My math level was fairly advanced in high school, but at college I found I wasn’t up to par. I struggled so much that I dropped the course and gave up my high school dream – to become an engineer. The porridge was too hot!
05 My classmates were surprised to know I had switched from science to the humanities. I also had a new-found hatred of math there after– so much that to this day I don’t even want to calculate the tip on a restaurant bill. I felt the subject let me down, so my next career consideration was, naturally, to do something on the opposite side of the spectrum, something free and artistic.
06 I browsed the options on my college website. The graphic design program reminded me of my childhood days of excessive drawing. This part of the porridge turned out quite brief, since the requirements to enter the program were not demanding. Nevertheless, I still didn’t feel quite right because I was not excited about it. I walked away. The porridge was too cold!
07 It was at this point that I felt completely frustrated, a sentiment shared by many college students browsing majors. I picked the brains of my advisor, carefully read the information on the career services website, and continued to hesitate about my major choice. Things didn’t change till I got a phone call from my dad. Talking to him, I threw out the idea of applying for a position at a student-run newspaper on campus, more like a last resort than an actual consideration. “You know, you’ve always been good at writing,” he said. You know what? My prolonged hesitation over my major ended dramatically, not with more excessive overthinking, but rather, as a sudden realization. All I needed was an outside source to confirm the fact: Journalism was my calling.
08 “Whydidn’t it hit me before?” I asked myself. As a child, I won writing contests and got second place in two Spelling Bees. I earned straight A’s in English and writing classes. Even at college, friends let me proofread their papers. The signs were right there in front of me, but I just ignored them because I didn’t think my abilities were unique.
09 Journalism, to me, is the perfect balance between what I loved about engineering and graphic design. It’s structured, like engineering, in the fact that you need to know grammar rules, journalistic styles, press releases, and the like. But it’s also artistic in the fact that you get to explore a range of thought-provoking topics, express them in a creative light, and put them all in front of readers.
