'Major' complications

"Exploratory": the nice term I get to use here in Bloomington to say I have no clue in what I'm going to major. It's already time to schedule for next semester, and I'm excited and petrified. I know to avoid the mistakes I made this semester. I won't be scheduling any more classes in areas I already have enough Advanced Placement credit in, and I know my schedule can't be as random and unfocused as it was this semester. So, as I try to determine the path the rest of my life will take, I can't help but think: How did it get this way? I used to be so sure I'd do something great. \nLet me put it like this: I used to be smart, especially in elementary school. I rarely had to try. I was confident I was the smartest kid in the world. I was the kid who got to check out books from the entire library instead of just the section for kindergartners. I had dreams of becoming proficient at every profession you can think of. I was unfocused, but at least I had ambition. That would soon change. \nIt was easy to exploit my rapid mental maturation in grade school, but in junior high other kids started catching up. In addition, I was one of those students "smart" enough to know middle school didn't matter and lazy enough to act accordingly. The future was always very far away. I maintained this sentiment throughout high school.\nUnfortunately, the future is now. I know I don't need to decide exactly what I'm going to do, but picking classes that are actually relevant to a certain field is important. Declaring a major will move me away from my University Division adviser to someone in a specific department who will know more about my class choices and what I should take. Most students can get by taking general education courses until they decide what to do, but I already have AP credit in most of those areas. I need to start taking classes toward a major, or else I'm essentially wasting my time. This semester, I have a few classes in the latter category. For example, no offense to my Y100 class, but I already have credit for Y103. Sure, all my classes are great and interesting, but honestly, only two of my courses are worth anything when it comes to a potential degree. One fulfills my freshman topics credit and the other takes me one step closer to my Spanish minor. I'm glad this column is online because otherwise a few of my professors might read this.\nSo it's time to schedule. No more procrastinating (that is, writing this column). Time to decide how I'll be spending 15-19 hours of my life per week next semester. After a long afternoon of deliberation, I'll no longer be exploratory, undecided or lost in a huge bulletin of class offerings. I'll be a lawyer. Or a doctor. Or something.