• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » I Switched Majors My Junior Year of College and I Couldn’t Be Happier
Life

I Switched Majors My Junior Year of College and I Couldn’t Be Happier

FacebookTweet
Jessica Sullivan November 23, 2017

In high school, I dreamt of becoming a surgeon. I wanted to stand beside an open chest cavity and perform miracles. I wanted to be the person that people came to when they needed help. My own experiences with the medical field led me to believe that it was what I was meant to do.

In seventh grade, I began the arduous surgical process to have my right leg lengthened. I was born with a genetic condition that caused my right leg to be about four inches shorter than my left and resulted in scoliosis, back and knee problems. I spent most of my middle and high school career either at the hospital or in physical therapy. For some reason, though, I didn’t mind it. I liked looking at my x-rays and navigating the sterile halls of the hospital. I figured that by having gone through this process, I would be better equipped to console my future patients.

The thought of 14 years of school didn’t scare me; I was convinced that I was meant to study medicine.

Fast forward to my freshman year of college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I began the prerequisite classes needed for medical school anxious and excited to take the first steps into my future career. I joined research labs and began volunteering at the local hospital.

However, as my college career progressed, I noticed that I was becoming a tightly wound ball of anxiety. I would spend my time constantly studying, only to get B’s and C’s in my classes. The summer of my junior year, I knew I no longer had the grades to get into medical school. Not only that, but I realized I wasn’t happy with my chosen field. Did I really want to be giving it my all only to constantly fail?

mri
unsplash.com

When I complained about my summer class to my aunt, she simply told me, “If you hate it, don’t do it.” And for some reason, that resonated with me. I realized I didn’t need to be putting myself through my own personal hell each day to achieve a dream I wasn’t sure I wanted anymore. I realized my family just wanted me to be happy, and I finally found that I needed to do the same.

As soon as school started this past fall, I switched my major to English.

Realizing that I simply couldn’t make myself be good at something, no matter how hard I worked at it, was the hardest part. I desperately wanted to be good at math and science and see my dream through to completion, but deep down I knew this career wasn’t for me. I was working myself to tears and setting impossible standards for myself.


trending

110

How Graduation is Causing Me a (Good) Existential Crisis

Gretchen Rubin, author of Life in Five Sense
96

Awaken Your Five Senses with #1 NYTs Bestselling Author Gretchen Rubin

78

Adulting with Your Mom Is Fun


The science classes I took taught me valuable life lessons, but the most important thing I learned from them is when to realize I’ve had enough. At the beginning of the semester, I went back and forth constantly. I worried that I would regret switching to English and giving up on a dream I had nurtured for so long. Eventually, I decided that if I still thought I had made a mistake by the end of the semester, I could always switch back.

writing switched majors
unsplash.com

Now, halfway through the semester, I know I made the right decision. I hear my friends stress over their organic chemistry class, and I can’t help but think how glad I am to not need to struggle with memorizing anatomical functions or calculating chemical equations. Although I had always found math and science interesting, I never had a natural affinity for the subjects. I had really wanted to be good at it for the sake of my future career.

Instead, I have always loved to read and write, and now I get to do that. I’m pursuing what I love, instead of trying to force myself to love what I was pursuing. Medicine will always have a special place in my heart, but I realize that I can still use my appreciation for science in my writing.

I hadn’t given up on a dream. Instead, I found a new one.

About Jessica Sullivan

Student, writer, lover of words and science. Junior at UW-Madison studying English and Psychology.

What To Do Next When You Don’t Know What To Do

Q&A with ASCEND app Creators Sydney Campos and David Richeson

How a Last-Minute Gap Semester Changed My Life

Is Online Learning Right for You?

10 Things All International Students Understand

5 Pre-Finals Rituals to Follow for Optimum Study Time

Life Lessons I Learned in Fitness Classes

A Dream Deferred

So I Moved Back Home After Graduation…

Previous Post:I Realized I Love My Life, Only After Leaving It for College
Next Post:Don’t be that Kid who Lives in the College Dollhouse

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding