It’s only your life, but choose carefully

Whether your dream is to become an actor, entrepreneur, or just to be famous for being famous, everyone comes to college with an ideal. Or the lucky ones do, anyway. So why does it seem that the “undecided” students are becoming more prevalent in colleges?

It seems obvious that choosing what you want to do needs to be a rational decision, but when did it become insane to choose what you truly want to do? Since living here at Pace University, it seems the ideas need to be fresher, newer and the bottom line needs to be the dollar sign.

The more money mentality seems to have good justification behind it. I see students competing for who is in a worse position financially: “I have literally six cents to my name” and “I came here with $1,000 and I have $100” seem to be popular topics of conversation.

Although the cost of living is high, I didn’t realize how much it would come into play with the decisions students make about their academics, and eventually their career paths.

According to the University of Arkansas, 80% of undergraduates in America enter college undecided. Sometimes this is a beautiful thing, students should have the freedom to explore their true calling. But the disconcerting thought is that some students ignore what they truly want to do because of monetary concerns.

Freshman Cheryl Alessio is an example of this trend. Alessio, a communications major, is rarely seen without her guitar and can almost always be heard singing in her dorm room. While she fully recognizes her desire to be a singer and performer, she is pursuing a communications degree and struggling through classes that she feels may end up being useless in her chosen career path.

“I would drop out in a heartbeat if I got my break,” she says, “and pursue what I really want to do.”

While this isn’t an attempt to condone dropping out — it certainly is a red flag signaling how hefty the conflict is with some students. Whether to choose a job with the most employment opportunities or against every fiber of your being doing something you are not passionate about.

So I have to ask myself: What’s worse, a student who comes to school without a dream to pursue, or a student who pursues the wrong dream for the wrong reasons? The students who come undecided and mean it will probably find their calling by sophomore year, after switching majors two or more times.

But those who try to force a career path because of money or convenience may have to live with the consequence of being unsatisfied or unfulfilled.

Living in New York for this short amount of time, I have come to see too many people who are unfulfilled in their jobs and their lives. But the trend stops with you. Choose wisely, but choose from the heart.