Follow your heart to find your best path

Sometimes things just don’t feel right. Maybe it’s in the back of your mind or maybe it’s heavy on your heart.

It’s not always easy to figure out the right thing to do, especially with the rest of your life.

It wasn’t easy for me to decide on a major anyway.

 There are literally hundreds of things I want to do, but they are things that don’t require a degree like be a dog whisperer or things that I could just never do, like be an astrophysicist.

I had  hundreds of subtle signs that I ignored until one day I took a risk.

When I was a new face at Missouri Southern I wanted to save the planet.

I still do.

I declared my major and minor and was on my way.

Until I realized that the requirements in the field were things I wasn’t interested in.

 I hung in there thinking that I could “push through” and with hard work I could pursue that major.

Then I got burned out.  

I took a few classes in a different major and I still felt the same.

Bored and unfulfilled.

I had all of these thoughts about missing out on classes in the upcoming semester.

I have always liked language and how words are put together to narrate events or experiences.

Language is like art to me, only more useful.

I had teachers write on my papers, “Is writing your major?” or “I like your writing style.”

It all made so much sense. But I discounted my skills and myself.

I would say, “Sure, I like writing.

But I’m not very good at it, ‘So-And-So’ is better.”

I realized that I was afraid to try because I was afraid to fail.

That field of study makes me happy, it intrigues me.

Finding my calling

I was nearly done with my core classes when I finally started listening to those little signs I had inadvertently ignored.

I was very thoughtful when I changed my major and minor.

I talked to professors and students from those departments.

I asked them a list of questions I thought would be important to know while I seriously evaluated pursuing those fields.

Good questions to ask might be, “How many people get a job upon graduating?”

 “Do these classes interest me?”

If I was one student struggling to find the right path, then surely there must be others.

Perhaps it’s the person reading this column.

Maybe you are one of those people.

Ask questions, take different classes and get involved. Don’t be afraid to listen to those gut feelings.

It took me three times to find the right major and minor.

It’s okay to try new things and it’s okay to follow your heart.

Do what makes sense and you can’t go wrong.

After all, change is good for you.