My Second Learning Experience

This semester I have learned so much about myself and the path I want to go down in my career. When I originally applied to TCU I had absolutely no clue what I wanted to major in. I knew my strength was my writing skills but other than that I had no tangible future career path. I was so jealous of the students that knew they wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher. Their paths seemed so clear while I was constantly stressed about figuring my future out. I decided to leave my major undecided and take a wide variety of core classes, hoping that something would peak my interest. My older sister who is a finance and accounting major at TCU suggested that I take an economics course. Though I did not think originally that I was interested in the business field, she said it would fulfill a few credits that I needed and I would at least know for sure that I wanted to cross business off my list of potential majors. Well, quite the opposite ended up happening and I absolutely loved my economics course. I started to consider business but still wanted to find a way to incorporate my writing skills. When I was home for Christmas break my mom suggested I go shadow someone in the marketing field, telling me that marketing gives you the opportunity to experience the business field while also using my strengths.  I ended up shadowing at Boys Town, a nonprofit in Omaha that provides a new life for teenagers that have either been in trouble with the law or need to be removed from their homes for various reasons. After a full day at Boys Town, talking to people that worked in many different facets of the marketing world, I knew what path I wanted to go down. When I got back to TCU I started going through the process of switching my major to business and learning more about the marketing program. I even ended up applying for the BNSF Next Generation Leadership Program, a leadership and service based program within the business school. I learned from this journey that though you might not know your destination right away, figuring out what you want to do is a vital part of the process. I learned so much about myself and my strengths and weaknesses throughout this process. I now know that I want to go into the marketing field and work for a nonprofit after I graduate. Though this is what I think I want to do now, I am excited by the thought that this might change. Before it terrified me that I did not have a set plan but now I love the idea that I can do anything I want. The world offers us so many opportunities especially when it comes to our career, so why not take advantage of them. I am now so happy that I did not know what I wanted to do when I got to college, because figuring it out has been an impactful journey.