How Exploring Helped Me Find What I Love

Hi Explore Program Students! I hope you are enjoying your time being in one of the best programs Northeastern has to offer!

I want to reflect back on some of the more defining moments as an Explore Program student which led me to making my decision in my major, as well as the extracurricular activities I decided to pursue.

When I started at Northeastern, I was afraid to not have a specific major. I thought that I would never be able to find what I loved learning or that I wouldn’t find a co-op that went along with that major. I walked into my freshman seminar and saw the faces of the other freshmen students who were just as confused and lost as I was. I was happy that I was in the same boat as everyone else, but still intimidated because we were all looking for our niche here at NEU.

I remember being told that I would have to go to three major exploration events throughout the semester and I thought “this isn’t going to do anything for me.” However, these events, and being in the explore program really did a lot for me, and helped me realize that I needed to stop being afraid to pursue the area of study I knew I would do best in. First, I attended a business “What’s in a Major” which I liked but did not necessarily resonate with. After that, I decided to go to a Communication Studies “What’s in a Major” and throughout the entire event I felt more comfortable with the atmosphere and the discussion of plan of study, courses, and everything the Communication Studies program had to offer.

A bit of background: I had been doing communications since sixth grade, I went to arts school for both middle and high school, so, naturally I didn’t want to just go into the same field I had been studying and loving for seven years prior.

When I got over not wanting to do the same thing I had been doing for the better majority of my teen years, I realized that Communication Studies was what I wanted to pursue. Once I decided that, everything else slowly fell into place. I became more involved in Student Government and loved my classes.

More recently, I have continued to follow the pattern of doing what I love rather than what I “think” is the right pattern to follow. I auditioned for NUDANCO (Northeastern University Dance Company) in the fall, and I am continuing to dance with them this Spring! I also became a Peer Mentor for the Explore Program so that I get to share my experiences with all of you (10/10 recommend)!

The best part about taking a leap of faith is that more times than not, it works out in the end. I declared Communications and I then realized that following a path of instinct rather than calculated choices is what has made my experience at Northeastern so much better. I am currently on co-op at Reebok and loving it. I credit waiting for the right opportunity to come around to taking a semester to think about what I truly wanted, and following that path through the rest of my time in school.

By: Michelle Birch