Chico’s recent freezing temperatures is not the only reason why students have gone into hibernation. As finals week looms overhead, we isolate ourselves from civilization as we burrow in our dusty textbooks and crumpled lecture notes in hopes of surviving final exams.

As college students, it’s our primal instinct to push through the relentless elements such as dead week and finals in order to make it through these four years. But let’s be real: it’s survival of the fittest in this cold college world. Some students will tough it out and get that passing grade on their exam. Others will fail horribly and have to face the wrath of having to retake the whole course.

So what is the key to academic survival on this harsh college terrain? It’s actually very simple: pick the right major. If you think you already have, we’ll see about that six years from now as you work at a job you utterly despise because of the fat paychecks you get to deposit in your piggy bank.

How devastating that would be: getting paid to suffer through life at a job that makes you want to jump off a fifty-foot cliff. Yet, that is exactly what we are setting ourselves up for when we declare a major that we aren’t passionate about, nor would enjoy doing for the next 35+ years.

Sadly, I think that the prospect of economic wealth is one of the main driving factors for a student’s choice in a major when it comes time to decide what career path to take.

Approximately 1,568 students are currently declared as business administration majors and with psychology coming in far from a close second with a wimpy amount of 879 currently declared majors. The massive group of aspiring business majors easily holds the number one spot as most popular major for Chico State, according to the Chico State Department of Public Affairs and Publications.

Out of that large pool of 1,568 students, I have to wonder how many of those chose it based on the financial prospects while knowing that’s not where their real passion lays.

If that is the case, then those students are putting themselves through hell right now to get an education for a career that is just going to put them through even worse after they graduate.

This goes for any of us college students who have declared a major for probably the wrong reason if money was a motivating factor. I dated a guy who plans on majoring in business solely because of the money it can entitle. He is a prime example of a student who most likely will not find that determination to push through difficult college stresses and come out on top.

During times like finals week that pushes each and every one of us to our max, we need to dig deep to find that self-motivation to not end up waving the white flag in defeat when life gets rough.

As for survival of the fittest, Darwin’s theory predicts that those with the best traits will reign supreme in their population. I personally think being truly passionate about your major and career choice is one of the most favorable advantages we can have during our time at Chico State.

All of us, no matter what major,
struggle in college and that is just part of earning a degree. But what sets us
apart from one another is what we personally are struggling for: a career that fulfills
our passions…or a career that fulfills our greed?

Although by this time next week, I will
probably be on the verge of a mental breakdown as I madly cram for another round of
finals, I know that in the end I will come out on top. Because I’m fighting for
something I’m passionate about.

Are you?

Valerie Teegardin can be reached at [email protected] or @vteegardin on Twitter.