“So, what’s your major?” This question is probably one that every college student has been asked, and with due reason. A person’s choice of major says a lot about his or her interests, goals and, to an extent, personality.

Often when I interview someone for an article, they’ll ask me this question. And when I respond with, “I’m a biology major,” their facial expressions typically express surprise as if to say, “Shouldn’t you be locked up in a lab somewhere?” and they proceed to ask why I decided to write articles for The Collegian. And my answer is simple: I enjoy writing.

Here at BJU, we have a lot of choices that make up our college experience. We can choose courses from over 90 different subject areas, play several different sports through our Bruins teams and society teams, participate in dramas, take music lessons, work on student councils, attend concerts and the list goes on and on.

In our campus culture, it’s easy to take these opportunities for granted; higher education is a gift that not everyone is able to enjoy. The French philosopher Voltaire once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” As college students, we have the power of developing ourselves into the best person that we can be.

Considering I’m almost to my senior year of my biology major (Yay!), you may be surprised to hear that anything science-related used to be at the bottom of my “possible career paths” list. Remember those frog dissections in high school that everyone loved so much? Well, I named my frog Henry, only to get about halfway through the dissection to realize that “Henry” would be more appropriately named “Henrietta.”

Though I have made far worse mistakes throughout my core classes than incorrectly identifying a frog’s gender, I couldn’t be happier that I stuck with my major.

Biology has truly stretched me in ways I never thought possible. If I hadn’t attempted to do something in which I wasn’t sure I could succeed, I am sure sometime down the road I would have regretted not trying.

I’ve tried to take full advantage of my college education, which is why I’m working toward a minor in French, and also why I decided to join The Collegian.

Learning a new language and writing weekly articles have equipped me with different skills and perspectives than those I have received through my major classes. My French classes have allowed me to explore another country’s culture than what I’ve experienced my whole life. And working on The Collegian has allowed me to interact with students, faculty and executives that I never would have had the privilege of meeting otherwise.

So try something different and read some Shakespeare or take bassoon lessons, and become the best “you” that you can be. You never know what opportunities you might have down the road if you do or what opportunities you might lose if you don’t.