After high school, I thought I was set on majoring in business, but I never had a reason as to why I wanted to do it.

A part of me knew that majoring in business would make my parents proud once I took over the small business they had created, but that was the problem because it started to feel like an obligation to pick business.

I had trained myself to be content with my decisions because I was so focused on making my family happy and proud.

According to a 2012 to 2014 survey by U.S Department of Education, most students change their majors at least once within the three years of initial enrollment.

The average of students who switch within three years is 64 percent, with 35 being STEM majors, and 29 being non-stem majors.

Being a first-generation, Hispanic student, I had the pressure of not only choosing a STEM major to make my parents proud, but also something that I could make a name for myself.

STEM majors were never interesting to me because I never felt confident in the classrooms.

I felt like the weakest link in most of my classes because everyone around me was actually understanding and enjoying what they were learning.

Writing had always been in the back of my mind, especially since I wrote a lot of personal stories when things got tough in my life since I was young.

However, I was so focused on improving my parent’s business and I didn’t realize it was their dreams I was trying to make happen.

As guilt started building up, I kept forcing myself to continue with business. I had a plan set, which was to transfer in two years.

I came to the point where I couldn’t handle my calculus anymore.

I had withdrawn my first semester and was about to withdraw for the second time.

I would cry daily and would be stressed to the point I stopped showing up to class.

I realized that I had was not happy and I needed to stop putting others before myself.

It wasn’t a bad thing, but it wasn’t necessarily a good thing either, because I was living off of what I thought would make everyone happy.

I didn’t want to stay for another year, I didn’t want to disappoint my parents, and I didn’t want to stress about starting all over and feeling like I was backtracking.

As I researched, I came across the College Board website, where they informed me about changing majors.

According to the College Board website, “Stephanie Balmer, dean of admissions at Dickinson College, suggests you take ‘classes in which you’re going to be confident, but at the same time, take some risks.’ She notes that a class you never planned to take could end up helping you choose your major.”

That summer, I took a journalism class, where I realized I felt confident and excited.

I didn’t care about whether people would take me seriously or not, but I knew I was happy.

My parents supported me on my decision and continue to do so, as they never wanted me to feel pressured to carry on their dreams, but to start some of my own.

Looking back, I don’t regret choosing business, because I believe it was meant to lead me towards what I was supposed to be doing.

It is OK to create your own path.

It is OK if not everything goes the way you planned because, in the end, everything works out.