Photo Credit: The Commonwealth Times
It’s okay to have a change of heart 😉
Sophia Poulimenakos, Social Media Manager
I finished my degree last December, which honestly feels like such a crazy thing to say. My first year self is definitely a bit shocked we even made it this far considering the disastrous year I had. I didn’t really have a plan when I entered my first year and just couldn’t decide what I wanted, so as per my mother’s suggestion the plan was that I was going to major in Industrial Relations and Human Resources. Long story short, that didn’t work out at all. I ended up retaking a required course over and over again (my arch nemesis, economics) to the point where I needed to just change course. Almost five years later, I have a degree in Political Science with minors in Sociology and Music History. Even though changing courses was not an easy decision, it was absolutely the right one for me — and ultimately is the reason why I have my degree. Here’s how I decided what to change, when every decision I felt like I was making was impossible:
- Choosing My Major as Political Science: When it came down to changing course, I knew if I was going to make a decision like this it had to be something I knew I was going to enjoy. I thought back to high school and asked myself questions like “what really piqued my interest in class?” Civics was the first thing I thought of. Most Ontario schools require you to take a class called “Civics and Careers” where one half — the Careers half — you plan your entire life in two months and the other half — Civics — you learn how our country is run. Weird Combo in my opinion, but I loved Civics. I loved learning what made our country make the choices we made, how we could make better ones, and how we compare from a global perspective. Realizing there was an entire major like this blew my mind, and I knew it was going to be the right choice for me.
- My First Minor as Sociology: I’ll have to be honest here, there’s no sappy story for picking sociology as my minor. In addition to economics being a required course, sociology was also required. Shockingly, I did really well in both SOC100 and SOC150; the two classes required to get into the minor. My combined mark was above what I needed to get in — so choosing that was easy! I honestly did enjoy it, and it worked quite well as a combination with my major!
- My Second Minor in Music History: *Nerd Alert* I was a music kid in high school, and leaving it behind made me a little desperate to keep it alive in some way. My music teacher — a U of T alumnus — had mentioned to me this minor existed and I immediately got into it! Sometimes the classes were a bit of a headache, but the grades I received made it so worth it. If you ever need a GPA booster, MUS courses will be your best friend.
Making a change like this in any year can seem a bit scary, but if you know making the change will ensure that you are much happier learning, I believe it’s worth the risk. If you’re struggling to pick a major or feel like you’re stuck in what you pick, just know there is always time to find out what you like. You’re allowed to grow and change and see what makes you happy. I hope the choices you make are the ones that YOU want, and no one else. It’s your life friends, and I’m rooting for you!
