A Letter to Undecided College Students

By JoAnna DiCicco on March 22, 2017

Image via Life Hacks

High school students are put under so much pressure during their senior year. Every day, they hear, “Where are you going to college?;” “What are you majoring in?;” “What do you want to do?”

I know that when I was a senior in high school, I was all over the place with what I wanted to do. I had an interest in pharmacy, photography, and special education, and never in the world would I think that I would have chosen the major that I did: business administration.

I have never been interested in business at all; it always seemed to bore me. However, I was under pressure once I became a freshman in college — suddenly it was my second semester, and I had to come up with something so I declared business administration with a specialization in finance. My reasoning was simply that you can always get a job if you have a business degree.

Well, as time went on, it was first semester sophomore year, then sophomore year, then junior year, and now I’m two months away from graduation. While I’m thankful for my business expertise, it is not a passion of mine, and has, unfortunately, not become one over time. This is when I realized that I should pursue something that I love, something that makes me happy, something I can see myself doing happily for the rest of my life.

Of course, there is a fine line between practicality and happiness. It is not wise to pursue something in which you will be making $5,000 a year because you love it. It is true that money does not buy happiness, but as humans, we do have a standard of living which costs our hard earned money, and if we are not able to afford that standard of living to a satisfactory extent, we will not be happy, for the most part.

With this in mind, I have decided to pursue something on the side that I have always had a passion for but never pursued for fear of failure, fear of poverty, and fear of judgment. I am still pursuing my business degree while adding a minor, and a hobby, in writing.

Unfortunately, I did not realize sooner that I had not pursued something that I saw myself doing for my entire life, but this is a blessing in disguise. Now, I can take what I’ve learned — real-world experiences, internships and jobs, class teachings, and the experience of finding myself — and turn that into something positive. I am doing something different than many by doing both something practical and something I am passionate about, and I am very lucky that this worked out the way it did.

I am not writing this article for me, but for you. Pressured high school seniors, confused freshmen, struggling sophomores: PLEASE. Do not make any rash decisions for fear of rejection, fear of poverty, or fear of judgment. Catch the problem early so that you have time to turn things around. Don’t get caught in a fishnet of doing something you hate for the rest of your life just because you will be rich because money provides comfort. Money does not provide happiness, relationships, or spark a light inside your imagination. It’s YOUR life. Do what will make YOU happy. Never forget it.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format