There’s an old proverb by Confucius which says, ““Whatever you do, do it with all your heart.” Well, I bet Confucius never had to worry about massive college loans.  

In short, this saying doesn’t really apply anymore. Students who are about to graduate high school must do a lot more than follow their passions; they must thoughtfully consider how they can turn their passions into a profession when they become college graduates. 

High school students aren’t just looking at the next step anymore. They are looking at the whole staircase. They don’t need just a college major that represents what they love; they need a major that will also lead to a lucrative career and that supports the lifestyle they want to have. 

I always wanted to be a journalist; I wanted to write for news sources much like this one, report important events, and be the world’s source of information. So, it was logical for me to choose the major of Journalism…right? 

Well, sadly, journalism is a dying job market according to recent studies. It’s also a competitive field where one must make their way up to the position they want. And it’s never 100% certain that I will succeed in this field.  

I had to have a backup plan. So last summer, I researched careers, not majors. These all needed to be well paying, with a job market on an upward incline. I also had to connect with them, because what good is pursuing an art I will find myself miserable in.  

At the end of it, I found I was also interested in becoming a Public Relations Representative. I had never previously heard of this career before my research, but it suited me very well despite not being my first choice. After I found this career, I looked for the college majors that people in these jobs had attained. 

It’s also important to have a safety net in case your passion changes…or backfires. Someone may think they know what they want to be, and then realize years later that they aren’t happy; the career that was “their calling” might actually have never been for them.  

This realization is more common than one might think. And while it’s difficult to come to terms with this, life is messy. Not everything goes to plan, regardless of how well thought out that plan may be.  

It’s important to enjoy what you do, but it’s also just as important to live comfortably; to afford debt payments and house mortgages and any dream travel plans in the works.  

The whole college process is chaotic enough. It helps if you know the end goal, so all you have to do is put the pieces together on how to get there.  

It might be time to update Confucius’s proverb: Choose a major that synthesizes your values and talents, as well as the career and lifestyle you want. Then, do it with all your heart.