A Major Decision

            My senior year of high school, I was pretty sure I wanted to teach first grade. I loved being around little kids, and teaching children to read seemed like a magical job. I had mentioned this to the principal of my tiny private school, and she found ways for me to assist lower-school teachers during my free periods. I monitored Pre-K lunch, recess for first, second, fifth, and sixth grades, and substituted for our drama teacher for a quarter. I realized that I do like children, but I do not like being responsible for their education. I was frustrated by having to spend most of my efforts controlling the classroom, and not in teaching. Truly, my favorite tasks were assisting the office staff. I decided to abandon the teaching idea, and chose another practical vocation.

        
            I began my career at Armstrong State University as a nursing major. My “first-year-experience” instructor was also my Biology 1107 professor, and I really enjoyed her teaching. She had an infectious enthusiasm for what she was teaching, and it spread throughout the class. Our lab assignment was interesting and very hands on, so I was able to mask my distaste for the subject with the fun of the lab assignments and enjoying a great professor. The next semester was less enjoyable, but I was sure I would grow to like what I was learning, especially when I moved into Anatomy and Physiology.

            The first day of my Anatomy and Physiology I summer course, I passed out in the hallway. From a physiological standpoint, I hadn’t had enough to drink that morning, but from a mental standpoint, I was utterly overwhelmed with the two hour lecture I had not understood at all. I got back up, and made it through that class with a B, because of a dear friend who pulled me through those four weeks. My friend’s passion for the course inspired me, and I gave my heart and soul to what I was learning. The following semester, I began to have doubts about my major choice. No longer in the same class with my friend, I had no borrowed joy in what I was studying. I was also struggling to give my heart and soul to Anatomy and Physiology II, when I wanted to give it to my Literature and Humanities course. That was the semester I walked into Gamble Hall to find out what I could do with an English Degree. This was the first I had heard of the English Communications degree, where I would get to combine the literature I loved with the writing classes that would teach me valuable, marketable skills. I changed my major that same day.

            With my last semester fast approaching, I am excited to graduate with a degree in English Communications. To my own surprise, I have truly enjoyed the technical writing courses I have taken. This summer, I will intern at the prep school I graduated from, and I am excited to use the skills I have learned to accomplish work I am passionate about.