Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 9/21/09 Section: Opinion

"The world is your oyster, kid."

A waiter once told me that when I asked if I could have lemon in my water.

And damn it, he was right.

The world is my oyster.

I come from a middle-class household, I am not physically or mentally handicapped, and I live in America.

I've got all the right advantages - I can do anything I set my mind to do.

But that's the problem.

For those of us who don't come out of the womb knowing exactly what he or she wants to be when he or she grows up, deciding on a profession can be extremely daunting.

I've changed my major three times.

Passions may seem like easy choices for careers - "Do what makes you happy!" - but are not always the right ones.

Out of high school, I dreamed of going to culinary school and becoming a chef.

I always loved to cook. But I decided I didn't want to work 12 to 14 hour days, mostly nights.

I wanted to actually see my family and tuck my future children into bed.

After talking myself out of a handful of other professions, I realized I was in my mid-20s and still unsure of my future.

I was terrified of making the wrong choice, and wasted a lot of time and money, taking units unrelated to my current major.

Sometimes I longed for the days of family-inherited businesses.

For example, if your father was an ironsmith, your grandpa was an ironsmith, you naturally became an ironsmith.

That's silly, of course.

It may have worked for someone like me, but not for my friend, who would have "died" if she couldn't have studied music. She had a passion, and stuck to it, earning her degree in music.

Five years into her career, she is bored at her dead-end job accompanying a high school choir on the piano.

Now, she is pursuing a bigger paycheck and a stimulated mind by studying psychology.

Unlike her, very few of us are 100 percent sure in our major. We must, nevertheless, go full steam ahead.

Even if we are sure, like my musician friend, we may end up changing our mind down the road.

So what?

Learning, no matter what subject, is never a waste of time.

My friend doesn't regret her degree in music.

Don't worry so much about making the wrong decision. Just make one, and give your best.

You'll soon be forced to, anyway.

College wanderlust is coming to an end, at least at SJSU. Shortly, you'll have to "find yourself" much sooner than past students may have.

With the budget cuts and major impaction, SJSU students will not be allowed to change their major after they have taken 60 units.

They'll have to make decisions, and stick to them, making room for others.

It may seem unfair to some, but that's the kind of push out the door I needed quite a few units ago.

I suspect many others need it, too.

As for me, they can push all they want.

I think I've finally found my pearl.

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