Assalamulaikom lovelies and welcome to the first part of my University Series! I decided to start this 4-part series to talk to you guys about university; what, where, and how to study and how to survive university life by reflecting upon my personal experience and thoughts ^.^

For this part, we'll be discussing the topic of choosing the major... Hopefully, you'll find this blogpost very helpful in making up your mind and deciding what you really want to do and study through the few steps i'll be listing below, but first, I might as well start by talking about my background of this topic in case you guys would relate...
I also would like to say that i'm not a psychologist or anything - I'm just an 18 year-old who has been through what some of you might be going through right now and so I have so much to talk about regarding this topic.


So once upon a time, I have decided to become a dentist. I don't know if I was influenced  I have already decided where I want to study that major and with whom i'll be staying in the dorm room - My dad and I even visited that university and paid the early tuition fees, and I was so thrilled - until I started recalculating in my mind, and so I started to ask and add everything up in my mind until I slowly started to believe that I am not capable of studying for 6+ years, nor was I willing to do so. I also considered the job market and how easy or difficult it would be for me to find a job in the future and I decided that I wasn't up for it.
I didn't 'chicken' out nor was I willing to throw my dream away, I was just being realistic, and that would be my first tip to you: dream big, but also be realistic about what you want and don't let the glitter of that dream blind you from recognizing the possible from the impossible.
Anyway, back to my story; so you might as well ask about what I am currently studying? Did I end up following my dream or did I throw it behind?
Well, I simply made a new one to look up to. I decided to study interior design and am determined to be successful at that, inshallah. But I didn't decide to study this major all of a sudden, in fact, I felt so lost after deciding to not follow my dentistry dream and there came sleepless nights and endless proper talks with my parents and family! Eventually, I made a plan which I followed carefully to make up my mind and be convinced about the result because after all, what's the use of studying something I'm not even convinced with.
The plan I made consisted of a few steps: LIST, LOOK UP, BALANCE, PRIORITIZE, and ASK, and I will be taking you through each step briefly.

☞ LIST: To list means to write down and count, and in this step, you'll be listing two things: who you are (qualifications, how others see you, how you see yourself, characteristics...) & your preferences (what subjects you like and hate in school, your hobbies...). Be honest when describing yourself as this is a very good way to know your strength points and weaknesses.
 I wrote down both lists for you guys to see in this gif:


☞ BALANCE: After searching for all the options that match what you've listed, you need to balance each option by writing down its pros and cons. By doing that, you're actually giving yourself reasonable reasons as to why this major/job is good/bad for you instead of refusing or accepting the idea blindly... You then have to eliminate the options that have more cons than pros :)
While listing the pros and cons, you can write down that you really want this option but you have to be realistic and honest in writing why you want it so badly.

☞ PRIORITIZE: You should now be left with fewer options, much fewer even! So it's time to put them in order based on how much that option appeals to you, how many pros it has...etc. and try to come up with maximum five ranks so you'd have less options to keep thinking about.
☞ ASK: All what you have to do now is ask about your results. Ask God for guidance, your parents for their thoughts and concerns, people who are studying the majors you came up with or relate very closely to ones who do, and most importantly ask yourself...
Finally, I would just like to give you a few more tips that inshallah you'll find very helpful:
❀ Be confident about your choices and even stubborn sometimes! But don't let that stop you from listening to others and their thoughts and concerns.
❀ Always have a plan B, C, D even Z for you never know what might happen.
❀ Getting the highest percentage in school shouldn't be for showing off, nor should you be upset about not getting the percentage you wanted so badly. Focus on getting the percentage that will allow you to enter the major you want as well as the other ones in your backup plans, for when you enter university everyone - including yourself - would forget about percentages and focus on GPAs!
❀ Unless you are truly convinced of your decision, don't take a further step towards it. Yes, you can switch your major in university after you've started, but why should you waste money and at least a year of your life? ;)