When I applied to college I had no idea what career I wanted to pursue. I knew I was going to major in Spanish because I excelled at learning the language and enjoyed learning about different cultures and wanted to continue to broaden my horizons. I knew that my career probably wouldn’t be centered around Spanish, but I thought it would be helpful to apply a second language to whatever career I landed on. Fast forward spring semester Freshman year and I’m trying to decide what I should add as my second major. The beauty of the Spanish major is that it is only 36 credits so I had plenty of room to explore different options. I landed on Communication because at that point I still wasn’t sure what path a was headed towards, and this was a broad enough choice with a variety of career options so I didn’t feel trapped in a niche. After taking a few Communication classes I was starting to think I wanted to do something with social media marketing or media production. I was taking classes like Intro to Studio Directing and was my sorority’s Marketing Director so everything seemed to be pointing me in that direction.

During my spring semester of my Junior year I began applying to internships for the summer. I was very stressed because it felt like twice as many people were fighting for the same internships since the previous summer most internship programs were canceled due to the pandemic. I was desperate for anything to add to my resume, and lucked out with 2 part time internships. One was with a children’s yoga brand that specialized in certifying people to teach yoga to kids as well as connecting individuals and groups like schools, summer camps, etc. to instructors. I served as the company’s community manager and promoted our events, reached out to potential instructors, and engaged instructors and participants through social media. My other internship was with a local television station where I served as a video production intern and aided with any projects the professional staff were working on. Overall, both experiences were beneficial and I formed great relationships with my coworkers and bosses, but I felt like I was in the wrong place. I just didn’t see myself in those types of careers for the rest of my life and I started to panic about what I was supposed to do next.

As the summer came to a close and senior year approached my anxieties grew more and more. I was afraid to admit that I wanted to change my plans and forge a new path. I began to ask myself where my passions truly lied and I turned to health and wellness. Movement has always been a big part of my life, I grew up dancing and cheerleading, I was the captain of my high school’s field hockey team, and I recently became a kickboxing instructor. When I was receiving my kickboxing certification during spring semester sophomore year I met another woman in the workshop who said she was currently transitioning from a 7 year career in marketing to become a physical therapist. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but flash forward to the end of summer before my senior year and I couldn’t get her story out of my head. I realized that I craved a career in which I could directly help people, and I felt as though the path I was on wasn’t leading me to that. I reached out to her via facebook and explained my crisis and asked for her insight. I felt as though it was too late for me to switch to a medical profession, but seeing her make the change at 30 years old was truly inspiring to me. Talking to her eased a lot of my anxieties and she was so encouraging. I remember her saying “No one ever has it all figured out, even if they look like they do” and my existential confusion felt validated. At this point she was the only person I had opened up to about changing my plans. It took me weeks to even say out loud that I might want to be a physical therapist because change scared me and I was afraid that my parents would think I wasted four years of my education. Luckily when I finally brought up the conversation with my dad he was really supportive and wanted me to pursue something that I was passionate about.

I realized how big of a role confidence plays in our decision-making processes. When I was a junior in high school and starting to think about applying to colleges and picking majors I remember thinking that physical therapy sounded really interesting. However, I never let that though grow into action because I didn’t see myself as a science major kind of person (whatever that means). I always did well in my science classes, but I was so focused on how much I excelled at Spanish that I never explored other possibilities to add to Spanish. I don’t have any regrets about the past four years of my education, but looking back I definitely allowed myself to stay in my comfort zone. As I embark on this new path I still have a lot of anxiety, but I try to remind myself that the beautiful thing about plans is that they are meant to change.