Classes, professors, homework, exams, midterms, friends, enemies, girlfriends, boyfriends, parents, jobs. That’s only a portion of the pie; I could list probably a hundred more things that stress out college students. The amount of pressure that is placed on all of our shoulders is astounding, and how the world expects us to handle it all with a collected smile on our faces is beyond my belief.
The pressures that we as young adults in college face can be divided into two categories: the daily pressures (usually small in size and minuscule in importance) and the big-time or “life” pressures (questions like, “What am I going to do with my life?”)
Recently, I’ve been feeling the pressure myself. The time for spring semester scheduling is upon us, and unlike most of my friends, I know exactly what classes I want for the most part. The trouble in being so concrete with my class choices, though, is that if my plans don’t go accordingly, then I will be forced to make a decision on the fly. That lack of control over my circumstances, as petty as it may seem, kind of freaks me out.
All of the recent talk about pressure led me to think about how it correlates with the process of decision-making. I’ve thought it over a lot and have come to the conclusion that the pressure we face in college may force us to make questionable decisions that will affect our future. I’m speaking in terms of our professional future, like what kind of jobs we land or don’t land (Who can tell anymore, anyway?).
The one thing that is on my mind the most is the topic of majors and minors, and more specifically, changing and adding them. Most of my friends have either changed their majors or added minors so far in their time here at WCU. I myself have recently started the process of adding a minor in Latin American studies, which is pretty exciting, but there seems to be some underlying societal pressure to pick the most “practical” majors and minors to pursue at college, so that life after post-secondary schooling will be less of a nuisance.
According to borderzine.com, about 80% of college students change their majors at least once. That number seems fairly high, but also fairly accurate as well. I talked to my friend Kristyn Barfoot, a sophomore here at West Chester, about why she decided to change majors.
“I found myself sitting in a class in my previous major and all I could think was, ‘Why am I here?’ So I started researching other majors, found criminal justice, and thought it was so interesting.”
Barfoot continued on to tell me that she didn’t necessarily feel any pressure to make a rash decision, but that she instead just found something that she loved more.
So perhaps pressure doesn’t always factor into our decision-making process here at college. Sure, all of the things piling up on our shoulders may weigh us down every once in a while. But I think what will truly form us into the adults that we’re learning to be now is how we choose to handle all of that pressure. Till next time guys, so it goes.
Rachel Alfiero is a second-year student majoring in communication studies. She can be reached at RA806657@wcupa.edu.