My host mother’s fridge is like Christmas morning. Yesterday, I opened up a yogurt container in hopes to find some dairy refreshment only to find a bar of chocolate. I had a similar experience when reaching for the tin can labeled “butter cookies” only to find a carrot, egg and corn salad. I’m starting to doubt the integrity of these labels.

As I’ve mentioned before, finding the correct label for me has always been a matter of debate. During college, I feel like one of the most prominent labels tends to be one’s undergraduate major. That is where the respected science majors are separated from the talented dance majors and the intuitive humanities majors stray from the inquisitive math students. However, I’ve found it to be respectable if a student even makes it far enough to declare something. My officially declared major: Psychology and Economics. The number of times I’ve doubted it: countless. But for reasons that even surprised me.

Finding the perfect major is like finding an arrangement of perfectly wrapped presents- there is always something that you could exchange, but it’s always an exciting surprise. It’s like deciding between a Furby and a GigaPet. Both great options, but it’s a matter of finding what will keep me occupied and engaged for the longest period of time. Like many students at Scripps, I am a lover of variety. However, Psychology and Economics were both subjects of interest before school even began. Both provide me with the perfect balance between structure and diversity, and for that reason, I barely blinked an eye when unofficially declaring my major by spreading the news by word of mouth. However, after two years, I am beginning to doubt the practicality of my passions.

I recently spoke to a good friend of mine who attends a very prestigious university on the East coast. She has always been someone I look up to like an older sister, so her words seem infallible. She recently decided to change from a double Political Science and Economics major to solely an Economics major with her reasoning being that she preferred to take more classes outside her major. As soon as the words left her mouth, I began to doubt my decision to dual major. Is it practical to be dual majoring when I have no real “calling” awaiting me at the end of the tunnel? In fact, I have begun to think that it may be more efficient to concentrate solely on one particular major rather than spreading myself thin. One toy, or many toys…that is the question.

While I have the chance, let’s peek further under the tree shall we? I have slowly fallen in love with Spanish after just a week of speaking completely and totally in the magnificent language. Shall we throw a Spanish minor in there? Well…WHY NOT?! I’ll tell you why not. I feel further confused about what I would like to do as I am exposed to new things which I quickly grow to love. But not all is lost, my friend. As stressful and daunting as this feeling is, it has made me realize that even though the “real” world has a terrifyingly large number of options in store, it is extremely comforting to know that my new experiences will develop into new passions.

I’m back to a blank slate about what I will be majoring, minoring or quadrupling in. But for now, I’m just going to grab my tin of ham for some peanut butter and call it a night. Surprises make everything more interesting.