{"id":2592,"date":"2022-07-28T10:30:48","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T14:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/studentlife\/?p=2592"},"modified":"2022-07-28T10:07:33","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T14:07:33","slug":"what-do-you-want-to-do-with-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/studentlife\/2022\/07\/28\/what-do-you-want-to-do-with-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do You Want to Do with Your Life?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts of Choosing a College Major<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s #2 on the list of the first three questions you\u2019re likely to ask someone new on campus. (In order of likelihood, \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?,\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s your major?,\u201d and \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d) And this isn\u2019t the first time you\u2019ve heard the question either. If you\u2019re anything like me, you\u2019ve had interested family, friends, or church members asking you what you\u2019re going to study in college many times over the last several months.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Add to this that the question isn\u2019t as simple as asking yourself what you want to spend time on over the next four years. There\u2019s a lot of pressure to have your major tie into your long-term career, so \u201cWhat do you want to study and learn more about?\u201d quickly morphs into \u201cWhat career do I want to pursue for the next 40 or 50 years?\u201d Suddenly, instead of making a decision about your courses, you\u2019re making a decision about the rest of your life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wow. That\u2019s a lot of pressure all at once. Is it any wonder that choosing a major is one of the biggest stressors for students? This isn\u2019t just the case for freshmen. Going into my senior year, I still have friends reconsidering their major choices and even making changes from one field to another. Many of those who don\u2019t make those changes still wonder if they\u2019ve chosen correctly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You might be reading this, rolling your eyes as one of those students who\u2019s known exactly what you want to do since you were 5. If you\u2019ve got it all figured out already, congratulations! I\u2019d still strongly encourage you to keep reading. While this article is meant to reassure those of you who don\u2019t have it all figured out just yet, there will also be ways to use the following tips to confirm a major choice you\u2019ve already made.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Do: Put First Things First<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While deciding your major, it\u2019s important to ask yourself what you want your life to look like after college. This isn\u2019t to say that you need to have all the details figured out. If you can paint your life goals in broad strokes now, there will be plenty of time to fill in the details down the road.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t as daunting as it sounds. For example, as a Christian, I want my life to be characterized by love for God and others! This is such a basic idea, but it affects what I want my life to look like. I want to be deeply involved in a local church. I also want to pick a major that will help me serve others. On a more individual level, I want to be working for the rest of my life instead of retiring early. This means I\u2019ll want to pick a field that has enough variety to keep me interested for a long period of time.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What goals do you have? Do you want a field of study that will be compatible with missions work? Would you like a career that will allow you to travel regularly? What are the first things in your life? This means big things like serving God, having a family, or meeting a need in the world, sure, but it also includes the activities and interests you\u2019re really passionate about (see the next Do!).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t: Feel Like You Need to Have This All Figured Out<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This might be surprising to you, but even once you\u2019re on campus, the major choice isn\u2019t sealed and put away. I\u2019ve had friends change their majors during every year I\u2019ve been at Cedarville so far. Probably more than half of the people I know have changed or seriously considered changing majors at least once. While there might be a bit of a taboo around changing your major from people outside of college, it\u2019s not at all looked down on or even considered abnormal on campus. It\u2019s a pretty regular part of better understanding yourself and what you want to pursue.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The curriculum is also built to give you some time to explore. Usually, you will be taking a lot of general education classes during your freshman year. This gives you time to try out college classes in a variety of fields. It also means you don\u2019t need to take major-specific classes for a couple of semesters if you need more time to decide.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All that to say, give yourself grace if you don\u2019t have it figured out yet or if you end up feeling like you didn\u2019t make the best choice the first time around. There\u2019s always time to change and work toward something else, and many times, the experience you\u2019ve gained in your former field will give you a unique perspective on your new studies!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Do: Follow Your Passion<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All of us have things in life that make us come alive, communities or activities that we feel most at home in. For me, my first love is storytelling. As a kid, I wrote books in my phone notes document and read just about anything I could get my hands on! One of my fianc\u00e9\u2019s loves is history. Another of our friends has a deep passion for math.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever these first loves are, they\u2019re an excellent place to start in figuring out your major or, if you\u2019ve chosen one already, brainstorming the ways you want to use your major in your career and life. It\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t know what your passions are yet, but be sure to pay attention to what classes and activities you genuinely enjoy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard several people say that \u201cwhen you do something you love, you won\u2019t work a day in your life.\u201d While this isn\u2019t <\/span>entirely <\/span><\/i>true (after all, every job is going to have good and bad days), the principle\u2019s a good one. On a normal schedule, you\u2019ll be working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, for as many years as your career lasts. The amount of time you\u2019ll work in your life is likely significant, so it\u2019s important to choose something that will make that time pleasant and fulfilling.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t: Look for \u201cTHE RIGHT CHOICE\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This is probably the most important thing I can tell you. A lot of times, because we believe as Christians that God already knows the choices we will make and had laid them out for us, we feel like there must be only a single \u201cright choice.\u201d That\u2019s not just the case with majors! We often feel the same way about jobs (which company is the perfect fit for me?) or relationships (which guy\/gal is my soulmate?).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The thing is, this assumption is dead wrong. It\u2019s not as simple as \u201cone choice is right, and all the others are wrong.\u201d Most often in your life, you will be making choices between two or more good things. When that\u2019s the case, any of the decisions you make could be \u201cright\u201d ones!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God has ordained that we won\u2019t know everything. We can\u2019t look at our lives the way He does and see the exact path that He has laid out for us, as easy as that would make things. This lack can be a good thing; it doesn\u2019t just give us a chance to practice wisdom, but it also helps deepen our dependence on Him.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span> So, when making <\/span>a <\/span><\/i>right choice (not <\/span>the<\/span><\/i> right choice), what are some good biblical principles for decision-making we can apply?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n