Remember in the beginning of “Space Jam” when Michael Jordan left basketball to follow his father’s steps and play baseball?
He was terrible at it — in the movie. Michael Jordan, obviously, was meant to play basketball. If the Looney Tunes characters hadn’t abducted him and recruited him to play basketball on their team to avoid being enslaved by Mr. Swackhammer, Jordan would’ve continued to strike out in baseball.
“Space Jam,” aside from bringing us the smash hit song “I Believe I Can Fly” and following that weird ‘90s movie trend of combining live action with animation, delivered a thought-provoking moral: Stick with what you love. If you’re Michael Jordan and you were born to dunk, why in the world would you try baseball if you weren’t really that jazzed about it?
Last week, a study conducted by the ACT revealed that only about one-third of high school graduates chose a college major that is a good fit with their interests. A few factors are at play in the rising trend of students opting for majors such as engineering or business despite their desire to select a major that better fits their skill sets.
According to the ACT website, “‘It’s important for students to have the information they need to make the best decisions about their future,’ said Jon Erickson, ACT president of education and career solutions. ‘They should be made aware that choosing a college major that reflects their interests will give them a better chance of succeeding and could also contribute to their satisfaction and happiness in school and on the job.’”
A major is what you make of it. There are ways to be pragmatic with a degree in liberal arts, communications or fine arts. You’re way more likely to be successful in a field you’re passionate about, but if you major in business when you’d rather be writing a novel or studying botany, then you’re depriving the world of the next “Great American Novel” or hybrid vegetable discovery.
And in the long run, your degree doesn’t necessarily dictate your career. Will Ferrell, after all, majored in sports broadcasting. Weird Al majored in architecture, Ashton Kutcher majored in biochemical engineering, and Lil Wayne got a degree in psychology from the University of Phoenix.
If you choose a major that makes you happy, there’s no telling whether you’ll go on to become a beloved comedian or rapper — but busting your butt taking Advanced Calculus won’t get you anywhere.
The problem with the real world is that Bugs Bunny won’t save you from your bad decisions, and R. Kelly isn’t going to score your life. That’s why you need to take charge of your life and choose your paths wisely — and we’re looking at you, high school seniors.
A version of this editorial ran on page 6 on 11/21/2013 under the headline "Students: Do what you love, not what’s expected"
