My fellow sophomores who have yet to declare their major(s) and cannot make up their minds, my sympathies are with you. So, why is it so hard to pick one?
One of the first problems I faced on the journey of picking a major—which, by the way, is far from over—was the fear of picking the wrong one. Have I not taken enough political science courses? Am I missing out on physics? Should I take one more class in each department before I decide? All these questions, and more, buzzed around in my head.
I met with a number of directors of undergraduate studies in various departments, and I came out feeling more sure than I felt previously but not as sure as I was expecting to feel. Why? Because I was expecting to come out with a clear-cut decision. I was expecting one of them to say something that would just make it all “click” and, in one miraculous moment, I would suddenly realize what I wanted to major in. I wanted someone to make the decision for me and tell me what I was going to study for the rest of my Duke career. Well, that didn’t happen.
The second problem I faced was that I fell into the trap most Duke students fall into: inadvertently choosing to do way more than we can handle. I was content that I had finally made a decision: I was going to double major and get a certificate. But as I mapped out the classes I would have to take, while keeping in mind the study away programs I wanted to do, I realized I would hardly complete my requirements in time, let alone have time to explore courses outside of my majors. And it seemed like such a tragedy at the moment. I wouldn’t be able to do all that I wanted to do!
But then I realized, I didn’t really want to do all of it anyway.
Why did I need to take six courses for a certificate when I really was interested in only two of them? And why did I even need to do those study abroad programs if the classes they offered didn’t even excite me? Because, without realizing, I wanted to add yet another title to my college degree. Because I thought everyone does it—everyone who seems to be “accomplished” at least. If everyone you meet is doing at least two things and you’re doing just one, you will feel like you’re slacking and not making the best of the opportunities in front of you. But the problem is that’s what most people are thinking. We are all in such a rush to match the “effortless perfection” of our peers that we, unwittingly, empower the myth and disempower ourselves. It’s a vicious cycle that leaves everyone feeling miserable.
Both my fear of making the wrong decision and the anxiety stemming from not doing enough came from a fear of missing out. Popular culture idealizes college life as the epitome of fun, discovery and success. How can one not feel the pressure to perfect it then?
So what should you take away from all of this?
It’s okay to be unsure; most of us are. Its hard not to be when so many exciting options are thrown your way, and you want to explore all of them. The good news is that you can. You can have one major and a lot of free room to do whatever else you like with the rest of your courses. Or you can take two majors and a certificate if every class you want to take falls neatly into those three. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it doesn’t for me.
It’s also okay to take a step back and breathe. College may be presented in a certain way in popular culture, but it doesn’t have to be that for you. It can be whatever you need it to be. Maybe college can also be about being comfortable in your own skin, about self-care and about doing less. Maybe it doesn’t have to be so fast paced.
Perhaps a major is just one of those things that you should not think so much about because it really isn’t that important. Especially since you can change it, multiple times, throughout your college career. My advice: make a list of all the courses you want to take, see what department(s) they fall in and you have yourself a major!
One of my professors told me I needed to embrace chaos and not to try to order everything. And I think he’s right. I guess it’s part of that thing called growing up. To say I am still struggling with it would be an understatement.
Alena Sadiq is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs on alternate Thursdays.
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