Cindy Cervantes

I remember coming to Indiana University without a clue about what I wanted to do. I was the first one in my family to go to college and that in itself was a bit of pressure. Not only that but I felt left out because everyone around me knew what they wanted as a major. I, on the other hand, felt confused and lost because I didn’t have a definite direction in my start of college life. I was swarmed with ideas that interested me but it seemed impossible to combine them all into a major. I remember coming home and being surrounded by friends and family who always asked me the dreaded question: "What is your major Cindy?" All I could do was sit there feeling disappointed in myself when I announced that I still had not declared one yet. After a few more times of that kind of situation, I was determined to find a major.

I started this process of choosing a major by thinking about what it was I enjoyed doing. I loved working with animals and I wanted to be a veterinarian, but I decided that there was just too much math involved for me. Then I thought about Spanish. I had tested out of some classes and my family spoke Spanish so why not improve my skills and use it in my career some day. It seemed logical and having a foreign language would make me more marketable in the long run. So things didn’t look so hopeless a nymore.

When I went to my freshman advisor, we discussed all the ideas that I had and she suggested taking classes that fulfilled requirements for different majors. We even drew out a sketch of my long-term plans for my four years so I could get an idea of where I was headed. I remember sitting there and endlessly talking to my advisors about how confused I was and how I felt like a loser with out a major. They just encouraged me to talk to professors and take the classes that interest me. I was also given the suggestion of going to the Career Development Center and taking a career match computer test. I was advised to talk to the counselors there and make use of all the resources available. So I made an appointment to take the test.

The test on the computer was simple and the counselor went through my analysis results with me. It was very useful to see where my strengths were and the careers that could be possible matches for me. I even realized that I could still do the things that I loved to do like working with animals even if it was not a career. For example I could volunteer to work at the humane society or the zoo.

Finally it seemed as though I was getting somewhere in choosing a major. Yet, although I was taking classes that I enjoyed, I was still not convinced I knew what I wanted to do. I was already a sophomore and I thought I was never going to decide on a major. But that's when I received an e-mail about a "Choosing your major" workshop for Exploratory students. I couldn't make it to the workshop because of time conflicts, but I e-mailed the coordinator of the exploratory program and we set up an appointment to meet and discuss what he went over in the workshop. This was my turning point in the struggle to find a major after I was almost losing hope.

We carefully went over the classes I had taken and discussed all of my interests.

He gave me career sheets for every major, what jobs were offered with that degree, and there were even salaries for the different careers listed. For once I began to feel that my postponing a decision on a major was not so bad. Tom asked me to write down all of my interests and even keep a journal of things that I did that I enjoyed doing along with comments from other people who had ideas about what I was good at doing. He also mentioned the importance of meeting with the advisors of the different departments and taking notes after the meeting with them. We even talked about how we could combine some things into possible minors as well. I felt myself becoming more confident with a sense of direction for the first time. I even took his advice about going to the Career Development Center to further research my major interests so that we could begin eliminating some.

Now that I have done all of this, I have finally declared a major in Spanish. I feel very confident about that too because it has been a great asset to me even at my part time job at home where I had to train Mexican workers. It makes me happy knowing that I am helping others and using my Spanish even more. But even now by talking to advisors I have also decided on Telecommunications as a double major. Just goes to show the importance of talking to the advisors of the actual department because it could very well mean the difference between a major or a minor or even continuing to take classes for that major. Along with all of this, I am seriously considering going to law school because of an experience I had working at the Centro Hispano in Indianapolis. I assisted Spanish speakers talk with lawyers who were helping them with their taxes. So now I’m in the process of going to the pre-law advisor and taking a practice LSAT. I realize that being exploratory has let me gain more opportunities in careers and I have learned what I enjoy doing.

My strong advice is that it’s great to explore and learn what is best for you. Little by little you’ll be able to scratch off some things from your huge list of interests. Make use of the advisors and ask questions to your peers in majors that you are interested in. Keep track on where you are headed in your classes and make sure they are counting towards something. Go to career and major fairs that provide you with even more info and contacts. Also make a trip to the Career Development Center and make use of their vast resources. Remember that being exploratory is fine but don’t depend on anyone to decide your major for you. Only you can decide what it is you want to do so you have to take the initiative of going out and seeking what best suits you. Take all suggestions to heart and you’ll find that the world of choosing your major won’t be so confusing or stressful after all.