The hype around picking a major in college is itself quintessentially ‘college’: as if one choice we make in our early 20s would decide our entire life. I’ve asked myself repeatedly of what I wanted out of the major, and it is only recently have I finally rested my case.
As a student from China, I was silently presented with the socially acceptable majors by my parents and by my Chinese peers. Engineering, physics, mathematics, economics, financial economics and then economic some more. The lives for a good deal of Chinese internationals are elegantly formulaic: major in the technical field, enter a business organization or fraternity, interview like crazy to get that prized spot in an investment bank or consultancy. While being able to become a managerial consultant or a banker at 22 is very impressive, I soon realized after a semester of economics that what was suitable for my Chinese peers may not suit me.
In some ways, declaring a major is a statement of purpose, and the paths I might take from there. But these purposes and paths are not always fixed, in fact, they’re often in flux. (Right?) Watching graduation speech videos was what got me thinking about what I truly wanted, and I would like to insert the best quotes I have gathered from all the speeches I have watched freshman year. One quote is from television host Conan O’Brien, “It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It’s not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound re-invention.” I felt crushed when I realized that I could not solve equations as fast as my Math Olympiad friends could, but it did lead me to concentrate on what I loved and was good at doing: writing. After freshman year, I declared as an English major, something I did not dare to do before. Sophomore year was also the year I was accepted to the Cornell Daily Sun, a place I never thought I would be eligible to enter as a foreign student from China.
However, life is no Disney film and does not end easily, happily ever after. Here my other quote from Stephen Colbert could be useful, simply paraphrased as: “Dreams change.” I soon realized that while I fulfilled my teenage dream of becoming an English major, I ultimately loved the idea of chasing a dream, not so much the major itself. I found in mid-2013 the raw appeal of facts and the thrill of analyzing past events, which led on to my recent declaration of a second major in History, as well as an International Relations minor.
As Sun Tzu puts it, “Precise knowledge of self and precise knowledge of the threat (to self) leads to victory.” The trick with choosing majors, college, or life in general – as I learn along the way – is to roll with the punches as they come, and try to make the best of the deck of cards life has given you.