choosing your major
Wow I haven't posted in here in a long time.. I've been busy with third term. This term has been a lot more difficult for me.. and I dropped EE 52, but I'm still not getting much sleep.. But I'm not blogging to talk about my classes.. or about events in my life. Talk to me to get those.
As children, we are told that we can do anything we set our minds to. We have aspirations of becoming firemen, astronauts, or actors. But then, slowly our doors of limitless opportunities close off as we choose our specialty. Each person chooses what he wishes to do with his life based on his passion, his desires. Then, nothing else really matters anymore but his specialty. This is what normally happens in college: we decide what we enjoy doing the most and choose our majors accordingly. But what happens to those of us who have never had a single passion in life? What happens to those children who never had a single dream to become the world's smartest scientist or the world's greatest composer? There are some who take enjoyment in everything they do, but when saturated with a single subject, grow bored of it. I am one of those people. I have never had a drive to be extraordinary at any single thing. I have always tried to be good at what I do, but I have learned everything. With sports, I played baseball for a few years, then softball, basketball, cross country, track, and tennis. But after a couple of years of each, I quit. With instruments, I learned piano, recorder, flute, handbells, and guitar.. but I never got really good at any of them (except perhaps handbells, but I'm not in that anymore). I think it's the same with academics. The only reason I've survived school for so long is because of the public school educational curriculum that covers English, history, math, and science. Before college, I had never honed down on any specific subject. This is why it is so difficult for me to pick my major. When I first came into college, I just picked based on the fact that I thought I wanted to be an engineer, and my dad was chemical and my brother was mechanical, so I picked the other common one, electrical. I kept that choice when I declared majors because I hadn't really thought about choosing a different major. But what if I want a different major? I guess I'll change. But I think that perhaps I don't really fit into any major. When looking at all of the majors, I did not feel any spark of passion for any of them. I also don't feel a desire to be an English or history major, so it's not because I'm at a technical school that I can't find a major.. But recently, I can't think of what I enjoy the most. In my opinion, my major should reflect what I enjoy doing in life, since I will most likely end up getting a job relating to it. I always thought I was just going to be an engineer and get a job and then live comfortably with whatever money I get, and then spend the rest of my time doing hobbies that I enjoy. But what if I have it wrong? What if my hobbies are what I should really be pursuing? Since I have been academic my entire life, I never really pursued music or art as a realistic career. It seemed like it would be a waste, since I've been learning all this educational stuff.. But maybe artistic things are what interest me the most.. I don't know.. it seems too late now to change.. I'll probably enjoy whatever I choose somewhat.. but maybe not as much as I would enjoy other things. So what is better.. security and time for your hobbies on the side.. or living out your hobbies but not necessarily having security? Which is more successful?
As children, we are told that we can do anything we set our minds to. We have aspirations of becoming firemen, astronauts, or actors. But then, slowly our doors of limitless opportunities close off as we choose our specialty. Each person chooses what he wishes to do with his life based on his passion, his desires. Then, nothing else really matters anymore but his specialty. This is what normally happens in college: we decide what we enjoy doing the most and choose our majors accordingly. But what happens to those of us who have never had a single passion in life? What happens to those children who never had a single dream to become the world's smartest scientist or the world's greatest composer? There are some who take enjoyment in everything they do, but when saturated with a single subject, grow bored of it. I am one of those people. I have never had a drive to be extraordinary at any single thing. I have always tried to be good at what I do, but I have learned everything. With sports, I played baseball for a few years, then softball, basketball, cross country, track, and tennis. But after a couple of years of each, I quit. With instruments, I learned piano, recorder, flute, handbells, and guitar.. but I never got really good at any of them (except perhaps handbells, but I'm not in that anymore). I think it's the same with academics. The only reason I've survived school for so long is because of the public school educational curriculum that covers English, history, math, and science. Before college, I had never honed down on any specific subject. This is why it is so difficult for me to pick my major. When I first came into college, I just picked based on the fact that I thought I wanted to be an engineer, and my dad was chemical and my brother was mechanical, so I picked the other common one, electrical. I kept that choice when I declared majors because I hadn't really thought about choosing a different major. But what if I want a different major? I guess I'll change. But I think that perhaps I don't really fit into any major. When looking at all of the majors, I did not feel any spark of passion for any of them. I also don't feel a desire to be an English or history major, so it's not because I'm at a technical school that I can't find a major.. But recently, I can't think of what I enjoy the most. In my opinion, my major should reflect what I enjoy doing in life, since I will most likely end up getting a job relating to it. I always thought I was just going to be an engineer and get a job and then live comfortably with whatever money I get, and then spend the rest of my time doing hobbies that I enjoy. But what if I have it wrong? What if my hobbies are what I should really be pursuing? Since I have been academic my entire life, I never really pursued music or art as a realistic career. It seemed like it would be a waste, since I've been learning all this educational stuff.. But maybe artistic things are what interest me the most.. I don't know.. it seems too late now to change.. I'll probably enjoy whatever I choose somewhat.. but maybe not as much as I would enjoy other things. So what is better.. security and time for your hobbies on the side.. or living out your hobbies but not necessarily having security? Which is more successful?