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DON’T STICK TO WHAT YOU KNOW
Although everyone tells you to not stress out about your grades in college--at least not during your first few years--we all do, to some degree. Grades do matter and we all want to do well. But for me, trying to always do well had some negative consequences as well. Mainly, I passed up the chance to take some adventurous classes because I didn’t think that I would do well in them.
I was a social studies major--a separate department within Wesleyan, which is essentially a mix of philosophy, political science, and economics--and I pretty much stuck to social sciences and languages in the courses that I took outside my major as well. Some psych, some history of religion, Spanish and Japanese, a few philosophy courses, and so on. I did take basic bio and math, but only to fulfill my general graduation requirements.
Sure, I majored in social studies because I was interested in the field--always fascinated by philosophy, amazed at how economics form the basis of much of what goes around in the world, curious to understand how different governments come to power, etc. But I was also curious about art history, theater, film theory, literature, and even theoretical physics. I’d never taken a course on those subjects in high school--none was available--and afraid that my lack of background would translate into a poor grade I shied away from them. I did take a class on Japanese art during my senior year, thinking that it was my last semester and my grade there wouldn’t matter much. I enjoyed it, didn’t do so bad, and learned so much fascinating stuff that I immediately regretted not taking more courses like it. But it was too late--I’d be graduating in a few weeks.
Don’t stick to what you know. Don’t be afraid to explore and test new disciplines, new fields, try things you never thought you’d be good at. You might surprise yourself, and even if you don’t end up liking the new experience, the value of having tried and knowing that you didn’t pass up an opportunity to try is huge. Sure, you can try new things all the time after you graduate, but it does become more difficult. Life is busier, your job and your family take up most of your free time, and you have to work harder at finding the time and opportunities to learn new things. It becomes even easier to stick to what you know and that much more difficult to change the direction of your life.
Take a chance. I wish I had. I’ve tried to become more adventurous after graduation, but it’s not as easy as it might sound. That film theory class taught by that amazing professor isn’t right around the corner, it would cost a lot of money, and I’d somehow have to find the time to take it.
Explore. Try new things. Let your interests, not your desire for good grades, drive your course selection.
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