One of the hardest decisions we have to make in our lives is what degree we will pursue. In our final school years, we are chased by this decision everywhere, anytime, and by many family members. “Will I like my degree? Will I be good at what I choose to do? Will I be successful? Will I be acknowledged?”. Those “will” questions torment us, make us desperate, make us doubt ourselves and our future. After a long time of considerations, questions, opinions and despair, we finally make a choice and become college students.
Nonetheless, sometimes it does not stop there. Many people, after choosing their course, are not satisfied with it. Either because it wasn’t what they had imagined, because the student didn’t identify with the degree, or because the individual found something more appealing. The reasons are boundless but they all carry the same feeling: fear. The students are afraid of changing degrees because in our society there’s this idea that “time is money” and time is precious.
Everyone is always in a hurry to have their life figured out. However, it doesn’t mean that after you choose what you want to study it’s all over. You can change degrees and there’ll still be time left. There’ll still be time to find the best major for you. To help those who are in doubt, I’m going to talk about my own experience changing degrees and why I think it was the best decision I ever made.
From Journalism to Radio, TV and Internet
My choice of career was always a problem for me as it is for most people. I wasn’t sure what to do but since I like writing and reading, I thought Journalism was a good idea. Therefore, in 2021 I started studying this major at a university, had online classes because of COVID, and everything seemed to go well. My classmates were very welcoming, the teachers were great and the subjects were considerably interesting. But something wasn’t clicking. I wasn’t feeling whatever I was supposed to be feeling.
As I said, the classes were interesting, but not enough to keep my attention. I needed more – more action, more energy vibes, more enthusiasm. I didn’t want to keep studying that anymore, so I decided to try something else. I was really afraid of what would happen by doing it, since the year before I had already taken a gap year and my friends were already in their second year of college, happy and growing. But I did it despite that fear.
At the end of 2021, I took a test to try entering another college and I passed. Now I’m studying a degree that is absolutely my thing, called Radio TV and Internet, which is all about audiovisual productions. My classes don’t seem like classes, because of how much I like them. Of course there are some subjects more interesting than others, but it’s normal – not every class in college will please us, but it is way more appealing than the ones I had when I was studying Journalism. It’s more practical, more fun and I definitely feel like I belong.
It’s normal to be afraid
Sometimes I still wonder if I chose the right thing, but that’s because this is a constant thought we have out of fear of failure, though that goes away the second I get to my classes. My classmates are also welcoming and united and I’ve already made some new friends, so I guess I can relax and enjoy now. I once read that job and work are different things and when you like your job, you can enjoy your work. I believe the same thing applies to college students: when you like your degree you can enjoy your college, using it and its resources to help you grow personally and professionally.
So, it’s okay to be afraid and have doubts about which degree to choose and about changing it if you feel your first choice wasn’t the one. We have time. It may not seem like it, but we do. It’s not good nor healthy to keep insisting on something that does not fit you. You have to study a major you like, even if it means trying, digging to find it and starting all over again. You can even apply what we call “use of studies” – which is when you use hours of classes of your previous degree to replace similar subjects on your new degree – that can ease your time desperation. You won’t know what is right for you if you don’t take your chances. I know it will sound like a cliché but we only have this life, so we better live it doing something we love.
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The article above was edited by Amanda Moraes.
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