Probably the most commonly answered question by many college students is, “What is your major?” I, for one, knew what I wanted to major in when I was a high school senior — dental hygiene. After spending a year and a half in community college and finishing most of the prerequisites and general education requirements, I decided to halt the idea of having my hands in people’s mouths for the rest of my life. Clueless with what I wanted to do with my future and having unhelpful advisors, I talked to a fellow friend who majored in my current studies, and he convinced me to switch away from healthcare.

I was not entirely sure whether I would enjoy the major but knew my parents wanted me to obtain my bachelor’s degree as soon as possible and had thought it was “easy.” Admittedly, the core major courses I have taken at UC San Diego are not as difficult as I had thought. It turns out that I have absolutely no interest in them and slowly found myself envying my friends in other fields of studies. Yes, I am a coward. I was afraid to switch my studies knowing that I may have to stay a few more quarters up to an entire year. However, I figured that I will somehow discover what I want to do with my major and that everything would be fine. That was not the case.

Before school began this year, I began to worry a lot. I was a senior with only a year left of college and had little to no internship experience. What am I going to do with my life? Students in my studies usually end up in media production, marketing, or public relations. Not only do I personally think my department does not well-prepare its students with these skills, but more importantly, I have no passion in these fields. Understanding my circumstances, in Spring 2018, I added a business minor after a friend strongly recommended the program and knowing that a couple of my major elective courses can also be used to fulfill the minor.

I fell in complete love with the business minor. I am interested in the topics I have been learning and am excited to attend lectures to learn practical skills. Soon, I realized that I chose a major unfit for me. When I decided that I wanted to focus my career in finance then eventually management, I noticed that majors such as economics or international business would have been a better fit for me. Nevertheless, the next problem arises: finding internships and joining clubs related to my interest. Since I am late to the game, I missed out on many different networking opportunities, leading me to struggle to compete with other applicants for internships, and even had a mid-quarter crisis about my future.

Eventually, I have learned to accept the fact that I regret my chosen major, but ultimately I will be fine. I am preparing to attend graduate school upon graduation for a field that I am truly interested in. I do not blame UCSD for the personal choices I have made; in fact, it taught me that I should have ignored the idea of the traditional four-year college. I may not appreciate my major, yet I enjoy the experiences and friends I met through my major’s classes. Though I am not sure where I will be next year this time, I am taking life slowly and definitely ready to accept what the future holds for me.