I actually just began to contemplate changing my major a few weeks ago and am right now about 99% sure that I'm going to go ahead and do so.

Long story short, in high school I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was one of those teenagers who have no real sense of identity or interests and are constantly going through "phases" and changing their minds about everything, and I didn't begin to break out of that cycle until this year. When senior year came around, I felt a lot of pressure to make a decision about my major.

It was especially difficult for me because I was at the top of my class in all academic subjects and pretty much ALL of my teachers tried to convince me to go into their fields. I ended up more or less forcing myself to go with English Education; I kind of jumped to the conclusion that I really loved English just because it comes very naturally to me and because I like writing. It seemed more practical to me to go for Education rather than straight English.

I spent my first semester at college convincing myself not to question that decision. Now that I look back, I realize that that was mostly because it was comforting to me to feel that I had everything planned out already. Recently I began reevaluating and examining the real reasons that I chose my major, though, and I realized that it had more to do with the fact that it was something with which I was familiar than anything else.

I also discovered two other things this semester: that English is EXTREMELY boring to me when it's the only subject that I have to study, and that I absolutely need a career that isn't too routine and provides plenty of intellectual challenges. I also finally admitted to myself that I've been dreading actually teaching all along. I'm not a social person at all and would most likely have been terrible at it.

So I started researching some of the other career paths and majors that I thought might interest me, one of which was Forensic Science. As I read through some of the information, I realized that it involved pretty much everything I was looking for in a career and that it actually fit perfectly with my personality and strengths.

Unfortunately, the university that I'm attending doesn't have a Forensic Science program; I really would have preferred to transfer to another institution nearby that does, but I have practically a full ride scholarship here so that's not really an option for me. xP Right now I'm thinking that I'll major in Biology and minor in both Chemistry and Criminology and then get my Master's degree specifically in Forensic Science at that other university after I graduate here. I already made up a tentative four-year (or technically three-year, at this point...) plan for what courses I would have to take here, and, fortunately, I should actually be able to fit into three years rather than four easily. I have yet to see my advisor - I've decided to give myself a month to think it over and make sure I'm not just going to change my mind within a matter of weeks - and I'd like to visit the other college and speak with someone in the Forensics department, but I really suspect that I'll stick with this.

For me at least, even just thinking about changing my major has been an extremely liberating experience. It was such a complete relief to finally admit that I hated my first major, and that's what convinced me that I definitely made the correct decision in choosing to explore some other options.