The Journey of a Liberal Arts Major

It is my first time writing a blog post about my life and journey from beginning in 2015 as a lonely, nearly child-like human to a fully-fledged college student preparing to enter the great beyond of adulthood. I must say the experience was something of unusual twists and turns, backwards and forwards and overall wildness. I began my life as a young eighteen year old, enamored with the bright lights of New York. When Hofstra reached out to me about their university, all I saw was the city they were in. New York. I immediately knew this was where I was meant to be, with the never-ending nightlife, cold weather and places like the Brooklyn Bridge or Central Park. When the decision came to apply, I wondered if it were better for me to go in undecided or with a particular major in mind. All my college counselors said going in undecided made it look like you had no clear idea of what you wanted to do so it would be best to choose a major and change it later. Not knowing the hole they and I had dug for myself, I chose Forensic Sciences. 

Sight unseen, I accepted Hofstra’s offer and the time came when I was to go to orientation. I had this idea that I would meet a group of friends within my group and we would be best friends for all of college; this definitely did not happen. I remember

stepping onto campus after a six-hour flight and feeling like this could become my home. Fast forward to the first days of Welcome Week and class, I realized that perhaps this was not the life for me. Between parties, cliques and a hellish biology class, it left me questioning my maturity and ability to cope with being so far from home. I suffered through my first semester and immediately knew that no way could I continue with two more semesters of biology, just to get to chemistry and finally, forensics. I completely switched everything and began my life within the Liberal Arts major. With the added stress of disappointing my parents, loosing my scholarship due to a D in biology, second semester was no better. I took political science classes, which confused me, and photography, which slowly became my passion. I then knew that I needed to go back to my roots and love for history.

Summer came and I questioned my passions and my life. I got a job in a bakery which I loved (I mean, free and unlimited pastries and coffee? Who would not love that?). I knew I needed to go back to Hofstra because a life at home and community college did not fit me. So instead of suffering through more political science classes, I switched to history and found my love for all things, old and new. From ancient texts to analyzing trash to researching the effects of the year 1968, I knew this was it for me. I shocked my family with my decision to go towards history but they were receptive and proud of my growth thus far. Now, I had a clear path set in front of me and with the help of a wonderful professor, I realized my future had so many options and paths for me to find, try and love or hate. It was like jumping off a cliff into an unknown; scary but exciting and thus, began my career in the Liberal Arts which landed me a job offer with AmeriCorps, connecting the past to the future. 

Written by Emma Kern