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Choosing a Major
By Abby McCartney Let’s just get this out of the way now: You will be rejected from something in college. I know, I know, it sounds harsh. But it happens to everyone. When I was a freshman, I auditioned for three different dance groups, dreaming that I would be able to perform with one of them to rapturous applause.
No dice. I was crushed. Surely this meant that I didn’t belong, that I would never be able to make friends or follow my passion. It was the second week of school, and my college life was already over. But then I ran into Eve, my orientation leader, outside the bookstore. When I confided to her that my first weekend had been tough, she responded, “I know how you feel! I got rejected from so many things my freshman year—groups, jobs, awards, you name it. You just have to keep trying. I promise it gets easier!” THE BEST THINGS Eve’s encouragement helped, but what really made me feel better was her confession that she had been rejected, too. As the year went on, I discovered that my experience was quite common. My roommate missed the cut on the a cappella group she auditioned for. My friend Ben was wait-listed for a special academic program. No one seemed to be able to get into upper-level courses in any department. In retrospect, some of these rejections were the best things that could have happened. My friend Marjie auditioned for half a dozen singing groups without getting in; if she had, she wouldn’t have had time to volunteer at the hospital and run our Jewish student group, two activities she now wouldn’t trade for the world. My friends who didn’t make the varsity team ended up playing club sports instead, which practice a few times a week instead of every day, giving them more time to do their homework and see their friends. With no advanced courses that would let us in, the freshmen were forced into special freshman seminars, where we bonded with our classmates and met professors we might never have encountered otherwise. And yet, when we look back on freshman year, our greatest regrets tend to be the times we were too scared to try. As a freshman, I was so intimidated by not knowing anyone that I was constantly avoiding events out of sheer shyness. It never occurred to me that those potentially awkward situations were also a chance to meet new people—and that they might, in fact, also be eager to meet me. It was only when my friend Sarah started dragging me along to our campus Jewish center—in April!—that I met the people who would become my best friends. Before that, I was too scared to even find out that they existed. NO SHAME Unlike in high school, where being The Kid Who Didn’t Make Varsity can earn you a social demotion, there’s absolutely no shame in being rejected from things in college. Everyone goes through it as they try to find their place. Sometimes it’s a blessing in disguise, sometimes it’s a setback, but it never means you have to give up on your plans. Freshman year is very much about taking risks and putting yourself out there. In a new place, while you’re still figuring out how things work, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll make a few missteps. But the biggest misstep of all is not giving it a shot. Take it from me: Junior year is a terrible time to realize you could have done something really cool, if only you hadn’t been too scared to take advantage of it back when you still had time. After freshman year, we tend to get busy with our own activities, and we don’t have as much time for trying new things. But the same lessons still apply. College is a time for adventure, whether that means picking up fencing, learning to juggle, or just taking a class in a new department. And it’s never too late to take the leap. LINKS READ MORE ONLINE at wsjclassroom.com/links — FRESHMAN JOURNAL: The latest entries — SIX STORIES: How I got into college — FIREWALL: Avoiding identity theft in college
photo: GETTY IMAGES (FEMALE KICKING)
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