The school year has finally begun. Many of you are returning and many  of you are new to the UND. No matter what year you are, many of you will get asked the same question by every new person you meet — “what’s your major?

A lot of people put a huge emphasis on knowing what your major is the minute you enroll in college. It is because of this that many people go into the wrong career path.

As a freshman I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do — I also thought I had to know exactly what I wanted to do by the time it came to go to orientation. By the end of my freshman year, instead of focusing on getting my general classes done, I had focused on taking classes for the major I thought I wanted — Criminal Justice and Forensic Science. By the time my sophomore year came around I finally got into taking more of my general classes — more specifically science classes.

Taking these science classes really opened my eyes. Not only did I struggle with the classes, I also was not very interested in them and I dreaded going to them. It was after this experience that I decided to focus more on taking my general classes and finding out what I liked. By the end of my sophomore year, I had figured out that even if you really like something, you do not necessarily need to major in it. This is how I ended up with picking up a Psychology major and an English minor.

After figuring these things out, I used my junior year to see which path I really wanted to take. I took classes in the two different fields and by the end found out what I really wanted to major in: Political Science.

Most people may think “Wow, waiting until your junior year to declare a major? That is a long time!” It may sound like it, but because I explored different classes I am now entering my senior year almost done with my two minors and will only have one extra semester to finish up my major.

Because of this experience, I encourage students that unless you have your heart set on something or have wanted to do it your whole life, wait on declaring your major until you explore a little.

I have always had the philosophy of working a job that you are passionate about and you love. Chances are if you strongly dislike the classes you take in order to get your degree in your major, you are not going to like the career it leads you into.

College is all about finding yourself and realizing who you are and want to be. A part of that also comes from deciding what career path to take. Take your time making sure you are doing what you really want to do and explore what you love!

Sam Gaspardo is a staff writerfor The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].