Some people go into college knowing exactly what they want to do, where they want to work and sometimes even when they want to get married. To those who know exactly what they want to do, I applaud you. And to those who have no idea what they want to do, I applaud you too. Before coming to Notre Dame, I had no idea where to begin. Was I going to be an engineer, a business student, a graphic designer, a neuroscientist?
Looking back, I guess I was always destined to be a designer. From going to several art camps as a kid to designing apparel for my lacrosse team in high school, I have always loved solving problems with design. However, this was a talent I wasn’t actually aware of until this past year.
In fact, before college, I never really thought of myself as a creative person or as an artistic person; I always thought of myself as a math and science person. My dad was really the one who told me I shouldn’t lose my creativity and who encouraged me to pursue something that would let me foster this creativity.
And this is how I ended up today as a graphic designer.
At the start of this year, I really wanted to do a double major in graphic design and marketing. However, I quickly learned that marketing was not for me and that I really excelled in my graphic design classes. When I first told people that I was going to drop my business major, everyone kind of whispered as if I was making a horrible decision. And perhaps, maybe I did make the wrong choice. But how does anyone really know if they are doing the right thing?
The way I look at life, there are so many paths that one can take and so many destinations awaiting us. I am a firm believer that there is no set path for each individual. We are the ones who have to make that path for ourselves and we can change where we are going at any point.
There are people who are going to tell you that you picked the wrong major or that you should do “xyz.” Take to heart what they have to say, but listen to what will make you happy. We have our whole lives ahead of us and college is where we are allowed to try new things and to make mistakes. Go out into the world and make a difference. Go out into the world and pursue what you love. Go out into the world and make mistakes because you never know, you could be the next Ruth Wakefield who accidentally made chocolate chip cookies.
