Okay, so here's my plan: I'm going to double major in journalism and biology. On the surface, it makes total sense--I can strengthen my writing skills and still develop a strong science background, and I'll get to take classes in almost all of my areas of interest. I'll get two different degrees for the price of one and be twice as ready for whatever the world throws at me. Brilliant, right?
Maybe not so much. As much as I want to strike the perfect balance between journalism and science and eventually bring the two disciplines together, sometimes they feel like polar opposites. I might become totally prepared for a career as a journalist as well as for a career as a biologist, but I might not be prepared to combine the two into a science journalism career.
Furthermore, I feel pressed for time. It seems like recently college has become less about exploring your passions and more about building a foundation for the career you want to have--the job you can hopefully get. I can't just take random science classes and random writing classes; I have to take the right ones that will fulfill the right requirements of the right major. To put it more colorfully, I feel like I need to fit all of my courses and extracurriculars into a single cardboard box of four or five years, out of which my magically successful life and career will emerge.
I know this is old news: every college student feels this way. But I suddenly get the feeling that there's no real break between now and the rest of my life, and I'm not ready for the rest of my life to start just yet. However, I wouldn't want to go back in time. I just want to stay where I am for a while--allow myself time to make a few mistakes but ultimately still fill that box up with all the right things.
