Why Am I Here?

I agree that different students have different reasons for going to college. For me however, I cannot strictly classify myself in any one of the four categories that education marketing consultant Ken Steele suggests. I am more of a mix of all of these, but more importantly, I am in college to learn more fully about who I am. I want to give myself the freedom to develop as many of my strengths as possible before I choose a career path for my future. If I had to give this type of person a label, I would call it "The Philosophile." A person that is in love with learning and growing and experiencing all that life has to offer.

I came in to college as a music major, the decision hinged on the last four years of my life. Throughout high school, my label was "musician." My friends were musicians, my activities largely revolved around music, my life was mainly dedicated to that part of me. After only a few weeks as a music major, the intensive program had me strongly rethinking things about who I was and what I wanted to do with my life. For the first time, I was not taking any academic classes, all of my work involved music and only music. Any free time that I had went in to practicing my saxophone or piano or sight-singing or reading rhythms. For the first time in my life, I was not enjoying my music the way that I used to. For me, it had just become work. And when I realized this, I knew that a music major was not my calling. I missed writing, I missed learning about science and history, hell, I even missed being challenged by math! This realization was perhaps the most important thing that has happened to me in the last couple years. I have since switched out of the music major program, while still keeping that passion in my life as a music minor. I am taking biology, math, writing, all of the core academic classes. And to my surprise, I've never been happier. I feel more in touch with myself in recent weeks than I have felt in years. I am exploring the academic, left-brain side of me that I had all but abandoned since delving deeply into music over the last four years. I certainly don't regret those years; they are and will forever be an integral part of me, but I am happy and excited to rediscover other parts of me that I haven't seriously explored in a long time.

So, to bring this blog back to topic, I cannot say that I fit into any of Steele's categories. Instead, I am here in college to find out who I really am, what are my strengths, and how I should develop them to help me in my future.