The beginning of a new
semester is usually met by
mixed feelings from most students
at Bucks.
You’re happy because you
get to see all those people that
you don’t feel like keeping in
contact with during the
break. You’re sad because
you know that some of your
classes are going to be a serious
headache. And you’re
worried that the major you
have selected might not be
the thing you would like to
do for the rest of your life.
And just about all of us are
worried about that, I’m no
exception.
I hear about it all the time.
People change their major
half a dozen times before the
semester is over, or they pick
something that someone else
would like them to pursue
even though they know that
they don’t really have an
interest in the subject. It’s
kind of sad, but I can’t talk
down on those that are
unsure about where their
future might take them,
because it’s scary, it honestly
is.
We hit 18 and all of a sudden
we’re supposed to know
what we want our careers to
be; we’re still kids! We don’t
know what we want, most of
us haven’t even hit that maturity
level yet where we realize
that we need to start taking
actions now to secure our
place in the future.
The college supposedly has
a solution for this. It’s called
liberal arts, which translates
into a.well, pretty much
nothing but a degree.
What this does is allow you
to take all of the basic classes
that everyone must take to
graduate first, which gives
you a year or so to figure out
what you really want your
major to be.
I have a bunch of friends
that choose a liberal arts
major when they first got
here. And what happened
when it came time to pick a
major? Yeah. they dropped
out. When I hang out with
them they sit there and say,
“Dude, you’re so lucky you
know what you want to do
for the rest of your life.”
Do I now. Do I really?
When I first came to Bucks
with my high school on a
tour, do you think I knew I
wanted to be a journalist? As
I sit here writing this do you
think I know if I want to be a
journalist? Truth be told I
don’t know if I want to do
this for the rest of my natural
born life; I’m just as unsure
and scared as the rest of the
student body. As a matter of
fact, I’m more scared then
most of you because I just
picked something and went
along for the ride and so far
it’s been working out OK for
me.
The sad thing is that this
pressure makes a lot of people
crack, they end up dropping
out and wasting their
time and money and end up
with no education or direction.
To say it’s sad that so
many people won’t reach
their potential is a lie; very
few people reach their full
potential. But it is sad that the
system discourages so many
people from doing what they
desire because they don’t
offer that major; or their advisor
doesn’t recommend taking
a class they’re genuinely
interested in because it doesn’t
count towards the major
they’ve been forced into.
Do something you love, it’s
a lot easier said than done.
The best advice I’ve ever
gotten on career choosing
was from my friends’ dad. I
forget where he works but I
asked him if he knew he
would be doing that for the
rest of his life because he had
been working there for more
than 20 years. He laughed at
the question and said, “I had
no idea I would be doing this,
but it’s good money, not that
hard to do and I don’t mind
doing it.” And that’s the piece
of advice I’m leaving all of
you with. If you can’t find
something you love, don’t
sweat it, just try and find
something you’re good at.
I’m good at writing and I
don’t mind doing it, so I
picked something that would
let me write on a regular
basis, if only the decent pay
was there too.
When you’re considering a
future career, try and pick
something you don’t mind
doing and that you’re good
at. If you’re naturally good at
what you do it will make
things easier for you and you
probably won’t mind doing it
because you’re already good
at it. So, you shouldn’t mind
doing it and if you’re good
enough the pay will be good
too.