Finding your passion: the route to my undergrad major

When I was a kid, I was convinced that I was going to be a pediatrician. But I think almost every kid wanted to be a doctor or the president. I was stuck on the idea of saving lives until I got to high school. Between chemistry and physics, I realized that the doctor’s life was not for me! And that’s okay because I wasn’t born to be a Meredith Grey. 

Then, I took one psychology class my senior year of high school and thought to myself, “Hey! I could make a great therapist.” I thought I was certified because all my friends would come to me for life advice. This is ironic because I’m just as dysfunctional but somehow I always seem to give great advice. 

Then, as time went on I realized that being a therapist wasn’t for me because my attention span is short, so I’m not sure how long I could sit in sessions and analyze someone else’s life. 

So, as college came around the corner during my senior year, I felt like I needed to know what I wanted to do or at least what I had a passion for. What’s funny is that in high school I was in the broadcasting program for three years and didn’t realize I enjoyed writing. But I didn’t enjoy being in front of the camera. 

I knew if I was going to go into the journalism field, I wanted to be behind the scenes. So, once I decided on attending Bradley, I decided I wanted to explore the journalism classes. And let me tell you, I loved the classes I was taking my freshman year. I had a little experience with writing and audio, which was great for me because it helped me see what I liked and did not like. 

However, I also took a few sociology classes to fill Bradley’s core requirements and I loved that field as well. I assumed that the two majors did not combine, but after speaking with one of my sociology professors, she gave me a brochure about how sociology can be so beneficial to the journalism field. So, I decided to add a sociology minor under my belt and that’s one of the best decisions I ever made. 

Then, further into my time at Bradley, I decided to join an advertising club and I enjoyed the atmosphere. So, we took a few field trips to different advertising agencies and public relations firms in Chicago. And there I was again, finding another field that I enjoyed, which was shocking to me because I never thought I would have an interest in marketing to consumers or representing a brand. 

I was stuck again thinking of ways to add both underneath my belt. And somehow, the Communications department announced that they were going to combine advertising and public relations. And of course, I decided to add it as a minor, so yes, I am now a journalism major with a double minor in sociology and advertising+public relations. 

So here’s my advice: don’t freak out if you don’t know what you want to major in right away. I went through so many ideas of what I wanted to do, and the best idea was following my heart. Also, being open-minded about taking different courses has pushed me to develop new skills/interests that I love. I am so happy about the decisions I made throughout my time at Bradley and I can’t wait to see what the future holds after I graduate. 

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• finding your passion
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• undergrad