Registering students have a certain air about them - anxiety tinged with excitement and sprinkled with fears of technology failing them. Most of my students are registering for their sophomore year. One girl walked down the stairs with me after class, telling me how her father is pressuring her to choose a major, but she's paralyzed because she doesn't want to make the wrong choice.
I told her it's not a failure to change your mind. Most people switch majors in college. We talked about what she enjoys doing, what she sees herself doing, and if she likes being around people, and how she feels about silence. It took a while, but there are five flights of stairs.
I don't know if anything I said helped her. Not sure why she did, but I'm gad that she felt she could talk to me.
If this whole career thing works out, part of my job one day will be to advise slightly panicked students about class and career choices. They'll have to talk to me; I'll be assigned to them as their adviser. I'll tell them it's ok to fail and that I've failed and that everyone fails. They won't believe me then, but maybe later.
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