You Changed Your Major?!?!?

This Week's Headline: I am no longer a biology education major.

To those of who you just threw up your hands and may need to raise your lower jaw, let me give you a moment to collect yourself. Ready? Let me explain.

Ever since high school, I have believed that God's path for my life involved teaching children and teenagers about creation. When I hear stories of church-going teenagers reject their faith because their teacher told them that Bible and science did not agree, my heart breaks. I cry for young girls and boys who believe that they are a freak accident of Mother Nature and have no lasting purpose for their existence. I want to teach the truth of the Bible and the wonder of science side by side. Cedarville's Life Science Education degree was the perfect fit. And so, two and a half years ago, my journey began. I took classes, classes, and more classes. Each semester I told myself, "You're just taking this many credits so that later on, the load will be lighter." I stand before you now about to begin my senior year, and my load was not going to be any lighter. In fact, next semester was going to be the busiest of all. But I was ready. I could handle it. I would have to give up some of my non-academic activities, but I would graduate with a degree ready to fulfill my destiny.

Then I started field experience at an urban charter school in Dayton. My teacher, although hospitable, was not very personable and did not even introduce me to his class on the first day. I observed the students pay him no respect or attention during the entire lecture. I realized that I did not want to come back the next day. But that was not the only stressor in my life that week. I had more schoolwork than I knew what to do with. I felt like I was neglecting my friends, my boyfriend, and my roommate because I had no time to spend with them. I skipped a concert I was supposed to be a part of because I could not attend enough rehearsals to learn the music. I backed out of volunteering at IJM's 10K that I had been so excited to help with. I was skipping meals because I had so much to do and no time to do it. I was tired - really tired. And field experience required that I be ready to leave campus by 6:25am every single day. I didn't know what to do. I cracked.

I started looking for any possible way out of field experience. But I knew that if I was going to graduate, I had to complete it. Unless.... unless I changed my major. But that's impossible, right? You can't change your major going into senior year. Unless.... unless you're a double major. Which I was. I had an epiphany: if I dropped my education major, I could graduate on time. I could save $25,000. I could actually enjoy my last year of undergrad instead of spending seven hours a day in class and getting up at 5:30am. I would have time to play music and hone my piano and guitar skills. I could finally learn to play the viola I bought on a whim last year but haven't had any time to play. I could take interesting classes for fun instead of hard classes for, well, not fun. I would have time to read things, time to write things, time to make things. Life would just be so much... better.

Now you blurt out the question, "But what about your purpose? Your destiny? Are you just throwing God's plan for your life down the drain because his path seems too hard?" I do not believe so. My ultimate purpose is to stay by His side and allow Him to lead me in whatever direction He chooses through showing love for my neighbor and honoring His name. I would still like to become a teacher someday, but I do not have to become one through Cedarville's education program. But over the past three years at Cedarville, God has given me a passion for other areas where truth and justice must be implemented. I have grown to understand that "God's will for my life" is not limited to a single path that I can follow or reject. Through prayer and the counsel of my parents, my professors, and my friends, I made the decision to drop my education major. I will finish this semester with twelve credits, one of which is tutoring biology students at the high school across the street. I'm not totally dumping this whole teaching thing just yet!

And so, I changed my major. I will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in biology, a Bible minor, a music minor, and completion of the honors program. And if I return to college for a teaching degree, I have a plethora of education classes already on my transcript. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. But even more importantly, I will graduate and leave Cedarville University with a better understanding of myself and of my Savior. I will leave with life-long friendships made and life-long lessons learned. I will finish, and I will finish well.