Hello everyone! I know it’s been a while since you heard from me. This past semester was a little tough. Like a lot of students, I realized the major I was in wasn’t the right one for me. It took some time to figure out because I really enjoyed the artistic and creative aspects of the Communication major, but when I took a Psychology class in the fall, I fell in love with that area of study. That’s why I changed my major to Human Factors Psychology. And even though I’m no longer a Comm major, I’m back to blogging and ready to share what I learned through this process.

For many students right out of high school, a big part of college is figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life. That can be a lot of pressure! And sometimes students find out that the things they love to do for fun may not be as enjoyable when it becomes study and work. If you find yourself in this situation, you should know you’re not the only one! It’s OK to decide to change your mind. Just to put in perspective, I have a professor who has a PhD student assistant who told us he changed his major 6 times in his undergrad years. While most won’t find themselves changing direction that many times, it does show that you can switch it up and be successful, so don’t let anyone make you feel bad or dumb – just do what’s best for you, do the best you can and continue to learn and discover what you love.

I’ll also admit math has never been my best subject, and even though I did well in my first math class, things went south quickly in the next math class. I really struggled and I was too proud to seek help – I convinced myself I’d be able to figure it out like I had in my first math class. Which was a huge mistake! So I highly recommend seeking tutoring early and often. There’s so many tutoring options, and most of them are free, so there’s really no excuse not to. I learned the hard way so don’t be like me!

Things move quickly in college, so talking to professors, building a support system and connecting with resources before things go bad is really important to your academic and personal well being and health. College students can get so caught up in studies and activities, they neglect mind and body and that is no good. These are my greatest bits of advice that id like to give everyone based off of my own experiences in my fall semester. I just want everyone to take what I say so that you can apply it to your self and realize you are not alone, and its okay to have a bad semester, but to realize the steps you can take, and that also you can speak up and talk to your professors, counselors, and tutors. Embry-Riddle has a wide variety of people who are always willing to help you, and no one wants to see you fail. It’s just up to us as students to take the initiative to speak up and ask for help.

I hope everyone is having a good semester far, and I can’t wait to talk about my new studies in Human Factors Psychology and also my new adventures through my college career.