By far one of the most stressful things about graduating is the importance of picking your major. Your major sets up the entirety of what your future will be. How are we supposed to decide fresh out of high school what we want to do with the rest of our lives? Depending on what you pick, you are limiting yourself to the possibility of so many other jobs and you have to make a decision quickly to avoid the position being filled. How do you pick the basis for your entire life when you are barely old enough to vote?

   There are so many apps and programs that allow you to insert your interests and personality types as well as general information about yourself and give you career options that fit those things. The problem is, what if you decide you don’t want to do that half way through the year? You have to pay to switch your major, and it may not be a large fee, but on top of all the other costs of college and living it adds up. I was lucky enough to figure out what I wanted to do early enough to figure out the college path to fit that future, but not everyone has that luxury.

   It is so important to explore opportunities for careers in early high school years. The future passes so much faster than we expect, and before you know it, time is out. This can be getting a job somewhere, getting an internship, doing ride-along with local fire departments or police stations if they allow it and that interests you, or even doing a summer program to explore an interest further.

   For me, I was invited to the National Student Leadership Conference the summer after my sophomore year due to academic excellence. To anyone who is able to afford this, I highly recommend it. Personally, I chose the forensic science path because of my interest in nonfiction true crime novels and fascination with the FBI.

   Through NSLC, I was able to visit the FBI headquarters, sit in on lectures from major secret service agents and the chief medical examiner and learn lessons about the basics of forensic science. We even had a mock investigation team, crime scene and even a mock trial to simulate how the evidence collected at this fake crime would be used in court. 

   The one hundred students invited with the forensic science team stayed in the dorms at American University for a week. Throughout the week we had a tight schedule of meals, lessons, lectures and trips. Because of this amazing opportunity, I was able to figure out what I wanted to do with my future. However, it isn’t always this easy.

   Small interests can turn into big dreams when you explore the reality behind them. People tend to romanticize certain career paths or use the information they have seen through TV shows to determine their futures and are disappointed when the reality doesn’t match. Keeping your options open and exploring several different paths before settling on one is vital to making sure you have chosen the correct path. The choice of college should match your interests rather than having the college determine your interests.