Yes, it can be stressful. No, it doesn’t have to be.

Picking your major is maybe the most anxiety-inducing part of your time here, especially if you’re coming into college not really knowing what you want to do. The pre-meds and finance bros of the world make it seem like you need to have everything figured out right away. Well, spoiler alert, you don’t!

College [especially your freshman year] is a time to take classes and join clubs that sound interesting to you. The peer pressure to figure out your whole life plan right away is strong, but don’t let it push you into committing to a major or subject that doesn’t excite you. You’re on your own journey, and comparison is the thief of joy (poetic, right?).

My advice to you is simple: take risks. Take the environmental science class, join the software engineering club, take a few dance lessons. The only way to figure out what you want is to try a million things first. Columbia has so much to offer, from Lion Dance to robotics to slam poetry. You could try it all if you wanted to. 

If you really want to get the feel of a department or major, see if you can take an upper level class that doesn’t have any prerequisites. Sometimes, departments have upper level electives that do a more specific deep-dive into a topic, as opposed to intro classes, which are typically a broader introduction to the entire field on a more surface-level. This may not be possible for classes in every department, but see what you can do! I’ve taken upper level political science, architecture, economics, english, and environmental science classes just to see what those areas are like. Going a little bit outside your comfort zone is how you can ultimately feel confident in choosing a major. 

I know rising above the comparisons is easier said than done, but I really believe that it’s the best way to live your college life. You probably don’t have the same goals as your friends and you’re not planning to end up in the same place, so why waste your time comparing what you’re doing to what they’re doing? 

And if you’re one of those people who is set on what they’re going to study and do for the rest of their life, that’s fine too! But, it’s important to remember that you are more than your major. You want to study chemistry, fine! Don’t let that stop you from taking Shakespeare or Intro to Human Rights. College is too short for you to trap yourself inside a box when you have so many options in front of you. 

Image via Wikimedia Commons