Freshman year: you set up your dorm room with everything you need and more; you’re ready to start classes in the major you are sure is meant to be; you find a friend group that is so tight, it seems you’ll be besties for all of time. 

When most of us come into college, we think we have it all figured out. Yes, it’s a time of big changes, but there are some things that we are certain will always be the same. It’s hard to think that so much of what you know is going to be tested by your college experiences. Oftentimes, it’s easier to just assume that you more or less know what’s going to happen over the next four years than accept that you might come out a different person on the other side. 

So yeah, you have your major picked out, but did you know that about one-third of college students end up changing their major at least once? A lot of us come in enthusiastic about our chosen path, thinking that there’s no way we’re ever going to deviate from it. It’s pretty common, though, to take a few classes and realize that you don’t like the major you picked out initially as much as you thought you would or that there’s another major that you like more. Most of the time, those thinking “It would never be me” are the ones who switch within the first year. 

Even if you don’t change your major, you’re pretty likely to end up adding a second major or an extra minor at some point along the way. There are so many classes out there for you to take, you’re almost guaranteed to discover a new passion that you had no idea existed before coming through the Gate of Opportunity. Don’t limit yourself to the single major and minor you picked as a senior in high school — allow yourself to explore your academic interests without fear of straying from the imaginary strict path that exists only in your mind. 

Beyond academics, you’re going to face so many social changes that you’ll lose count of them. You’re going to make and lose friends within your first semester, form vital relationships with mentors and have to learn to live in close quarters with someone you barely know. You’re on your own for probably the first time; you’re in charge of what you eat and how you spend your Friday nights. By the time you look back at the end of the year, you’re probably going to feel like a whole new person. 

The point of all of this is to say that you shouldn’t be afraid of change. You don’t have to be excited about it, but know that it is probably going to happen, and you are going to be a better person because of it. College is a safe space to experiment with all the things you’ve never done before and may never have the chance to do again — give yourself the freedom to let go and allow change to do what it will.