My Academic Journey at Greenville
Published: May 09, 2018
Author: Shelbi Fisher
It's not uncommon for someone to come into college with one declared major and declare something else the next moment. I personally came into Greenville University as a Worship Arts major, but now I am declared as a Digital Media and English (Creative Writing) major with a minor in music performance.
College is an adventure in life, and that means there will be changes in some form or another. For me, some of those changes came through switching around my studies and adapting to unfamiliar classrooms. Worship Arts attracted me to GU because I desired to pursue something that would equip me for music ministry. I have always had a love for music, but I was never really trained as a professional musician in my high school years. In particular, I sang in the choir but didn't have the music theory lessons already under my belt as many other students coming in this year did. I was also in the process of pondering how I have a love for all the arts. When I graduate college, I want my degrees to show that I have studied the arts in many different forms. With my Digital Media major, I'll learn more about the digital arts. With my English major, I'll learn more about becoming an author. With my music minor, I will learn to read music more and receive private lessons to become a better musician.
Make sure to always reflect on who you are and what you want to do with your life. I knew that being a music major in this moment in time would be too difficult for me, but I never wanted to lose my music emphasis. I just switched it to a minor, and now I feel more at ease with where I am currently. I also have more time for other areas of the arts, and when I'm graduated I can say that I put time into many different categories of it.
Are you thinking of changing your major? Here are some concepts to consider:
Are you bogged down by this study? Is it too difficult for you? You may find that your current major is just too overwhelming for you. How I felt about my music theory classes may be how you feel about some of your classes; that it's just too much for you in this moment of time.
Have you found a new passion? You may discover that you want to do something different with your life than originally planned. We all have passions, but we may not be meant to make money off of all of them. Passions can always be present in your life without the paycheck, and it's important to evaluate which ones you want to continue studying for educational purposes and employment purposes.
Do you think you could be receiving more educational advancement in another major? Do you want more? You may find that your current major does not offer you enough. You may not be gaining what your main focus for the major was in the first place, and in that case, it may be time to reconsider. There may also be the case where you come into college with a lot of knowledge about your field of study as it is, and the acquirement of new knowledge may not be occurring as much as you hoped.
Greenville University was my dream school and still remains my dream school. I am happy with where I am, and I have no plans on changing my school because it offers me what I need.
