To the many incoming first-year students, I have a message: It’s okay to change your major. Let me begin with a brief criticism of the many American high schools from which you are coming, then suggest the overlooked benefits of our core classes, and lastly explain why students fail to change their majors when they should.

My very, very broad criticism of secondary education in America is that, unlike in the past, they have often failed in regard to exposing their students to a wide variety of subjects, occupations and areas of study. As a result, many students arrive at college and aren’t sure what they want to do or have limited themselves to an area of study they learned in high school that isn’t for them. The fact is, just because you like computers doesn’t guarantee you’re a match for computer science; just because you like reading doesn’t mean you should teach English. This leads to one benefit of liberal arts education: the ability to explore a variety of subjects.

For the many who complain about Calvin’s core requirements, I am by no means an exception. Many first-year students and sophomores will find themselves in a class where they feel more at home than they do with their initial major. This isn’t uncommon, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed of it. These last two years I found myself enjoying English less while enjoying political science and history more; I made the mistake of feeling ashamed of this.

While some interests won’t change, like my lack of interest in mathematics despite how valuable it is, you may find interest in subjects you’d never imagined. When I took biology here at Calvin, I dreaded it every morning because of past struggles with the subject. As the semester progressed, however, a new-found interest for the sciences was kindled. In truth, my current major has very little to do with science and I won’t be pursuing it, but that general education class reopened my mind to the sciences after having rejected them for so long.

One reason students may choose to remain in a major they are less comfortable with is their fellow classmates. They’ve joined a particular major where they have made good friends who share similar interests, and they don’t want to lose these friends. And so, as a way of preserving friendship, they won’t rock the boat and won’t change to a major they’d enjoy more. Similarly, a second reason that students won’t change is because of professors. Maybe they really like the profs in this particular major or maybe the profs really like them — either way, they don’t want to lose that relationship or want the profs to feel betrayed.

In the mind of the unsure or undecided student these are all valid concerns, but from my perspective as a junior who switched majors from English to social studies while adding a minor in political science, let me tell you that they are not. Any friend who rejects you as a friend because you’ve decided to pursue something you’re passionate about isn’t a real friend at all. And any professor who rejects you because you are pursuing your “vocation,” as Calvin likes to say, shouldn’t be teaching here.

But let me relieve you of these fears that exist in the young college student’s mind: they are mostly fantasy, and thankfully so. When I switched majors, there were profs who were disappointed, but they respected my decision; some of my English friends were disappointed, but they are still my friends today — some of the closest, in fact. And so I reiterate my message to incoming students: It’s okay to change your major. So don’t sacrifice thousands of dollars over four years on a major that you aren’t invested in because you fear the loss of friends — it’s a common fear, but thankfully it’s a fear you can reject.