Passion Over Pesos

Ever since I was a little girl I always knew in my heart that I wanted to work in the medical field. I loved all of the medical shows like Dr. G Medical Examiner, I loved to watch birth videos, and I was not afraid of blood so I figured “hey why not be a doctor?”

When I first filled out my college application I put down biology pre-med as my desired major. Yte, when I toured Spelman, I began to tell the current students what I planned to major in. They quickly informed me that this was a horrible idea, and most people who come in majoring in biology ended up graduating with a different major. After hearing all of this I decided to switch my major to Health Sciences and become a nurse.

I started taking all of the chemistries, maths, and other sciences that I needed for my major and of course some of the classes were a struggle but I pushed through. I was not a fan of any of my classes but I kept telling myself, “these are just prerequisites, my major classes will be a lot better.”

One day I was sitting in my Intro to Health Sciences class and they asked random students to share what their passions were and what made them aspire to work in the medical field. Everyone had these profound stories and different motives for wanting to be a doctor and here I was wanting to be a doctor because I didn’t throw up at the sight of blood and birth videos intrigued me. 

I continued to feel out of place within my major but I just kept trying to push through because I had already started this journey. It was not until my English professor asked me the simple question “are you an English major” that I truly decided that I needed to switch majors and follow my heart.

After reading a few of my papers my professor informed me that she could see that I held a passion for writing. She told me to consider switching my major, she believed that I was destined to be a writer. I never considered writing as a serious career option, I felt like it was not a field that guaranteed me a good salary after college. 

I thought about switching my major for awhile and I did a lot of research, but I knew if I switched my major I was going to have to switch schools; Spelman had no communication majors. After doing A LOT of research and filling out a lot of paperwork I transferred to Hampton University and I am currently a Journalism major with an area of emphasis in Cinema Studies. 

Although I continue to receive a lot of puzzled looks and judgement about not only leaving Spelman but for changing my major, I am SO MUCH HAPPIER. I know we live in a society where cash rules everything around us but my happiness is more important to me than having endless funds and being unhappy. 

I am sure my decisions have made some people unhappy and it has made my journey a little longer than I intended it to be, but it is worth it so that I can spend the rest of my life contributing to the world with true love and passion for what I am doing.