It’s never too late to try new things

Some people go to college knowing what they want to major in, what career field they want to get into and they stick with it all the way through. There’s a pretty low number of those people though. Ironically I’m kinda one of them.

But the best part of college and a liberal arts college is the opportunity to try so many different disciplines and interdisciplinary programs that build connections upon all aspects of our learning and world as we know it. As a senior I thought, yeah I’ve stuck with biology since high school and I still really enjoy my upper-level biology electives immensely this is for me! But at the same time I had to take an upper level division course outside my major and falling upon the intro core electives I took there were a variety of options for me and I thought hey this politics & government class looks good let’s take that one!

Now I bet some of you are groaning like “taking a P&G class for fun? are you crazy?” and “that’s so different than biology, it’ll be a whole different challenge” and my response to both would be yes it is and I didn’t fully realize it at the time thankful because I absolutely LOVE it right now! The format of social sciences is discussion based instead of lecture based with a courseload of readings for critical analysis based on IR theories, strategic games and understanding of the various topics.

As an outgoing talkative person I guess it’s no surprise this is right up my alley except as an upper division course many of the other students are P&G majors specifically IR or comparative politics. Rather than intimidating me it encourages me to be more thorough and thoughtful in my contributions and taking time to fully complete the readings (I love my highlighter, maybe the readings are a little too colorful). I love the supportive atmosphere, despite believing in different theories and arguments all opinions are valued and equally challenged without personal malice but for the sake of learning and education-the very best part of college.

I’d tell you more about how I love it but I’m still getting used to my workload, remember my other post “How to Do Homework” well I better get back to my 100+ readings for this class!

Decisions, Decisions…

Many freshmen have no idea what they want to study. They’re just getting their cores out of the way and figuring it out as they go along. That’s not the case for all freshmen though. I know a friend of mine who is double majoring and minoring. Poor guy. We’re only freshmen and he knows that the years ahead will be hell academics-wise.

Meanwhile, I’ve only figured out what I want to major in, Geology. I like Geology, it’s neat. We can learn so much from rocks, like the atmosphere of the Earth millions of years ago or the effects of pollution on aquatic species. Okay, both of those are a bit of a stretch, but studying rocks and minerals can yield a whole world of information.

But I also want to minor in something. I’m split between Communication Studies and Computer Science. I enjoy both topics. I’ve been extremely passionate about computers my whole life, working for a tech company the last 2 summers. But communication is just so fascinating. How communication has evolved from noises our mouths make to invisible signals in the air to text on a screen is mind boggling. I wish I could pick both.

Too bad I can’t. I mentioned that my friend was double majoring and minoring. I don’t remember the specific majors and minors he is going for, but the only reason he is able to do that is that they all overlap with one another. Classes will fulfill the requirements for multiple majors and minors. Geology doesn’t overlap with either of my potential minors. I can only pick one or the other.

So now I’m stuck. Do I opt for something I’m passionate in or something I’m interested in? Or do I toss everything out the window and pursue my lifelong dream to be a professional puppy cuddler? Decisions, decisions.

I really should go to sleep. None of this worrying will matter if I don’t do well on my finals.