Ye of little faith, take heed.

It's amazing, really. Most everyone I've told has been understanding, supportive, and positive. Hell, even my FAMILY thinks I'm doing the right thing. So being met with random academic snobbery by someone I trust is...unexpected.

Yesterday, after a summer's deliberation and several long talks with my housemates, I decided to go ahead and change my major. (Don't freak out yet, guys.)

I've been feeling more and more swamped, overwhelmed, and scared recently. Didn't want to blog it because you guys should be spared some of my more ridiculous angst, but it's important now, so I'll sum it up. Have you ever had a goal that you knew was something you needed to reach, but had no idea how to get there?

That's me. I assumed the best major at this school for what I wanted to do would be Biology, but after over a year enrolled in the major I am pretty sure I was wrong. The biology course here is focused on premed and prevet and people who want to work in genetics labs. All of it is interesting, but not what I want to do in life. I felt like I was focusing incorrectly.

When I had my chemistry crisis last year, the bio teacher I talked to to help me decide what to do told me that I may want to consider switching to Natural Science, and just place my emphasis in Biology. Looking over the major, it definitely gives me more freedom to take classes I can actually use later on. And if need be, there are other alternatives to calculus out there (though my current plan is to take precalc this summer, then calculus in the fall. I chose the wrong point to dive back into my math career.) All my credits are still good, and I'd still be able to take many of the same classes as my housies. (Especially since Maddo and I have the same minor and are both 3/5 of the way through it.) Essentially it is the same major, just with more freedom for me to tailor it to my needs.

So that is what I have decided to do. It's not going to affect my chances at a good grad school, despite whatever you may think. Anyway, grad school doesn't matter to me. I'm not going to be looked down on based on where I got my Masters. I spent three years as a zookeeper, and if learning what all my coworkers did to get there didn't give me a good idea of how to enter my job field, I don't know what will. It's not where you went to school; it's who you know. You may have the Masters, but you're not getting a full-time job without several years of experience under your belt.

What most people who do what I want to do is get their B.S, then go to school part-time and work on their Masters while working part-time. That way they are meeting people and proving their worth. Then, once they have their Masters....BAM! Full-time, salaried job. Or they work summers and holidays as seasonal part-time. Either way...the experience is the key.

And anyway, Natural Science is the major they recommend for those who are pre-high school education, and I have yet to rule out teaching as a possible job. My high school teachers almost ruined biology for me. I'd like to make it fun, and I think I could.

What I am basically trying to say here is to shut up and stop lying about having faith in my ability to make rational decisions.