Guest Post: Holly Schindler

Today, we have Holly Schindler, author of A Blue So Dark and Playing Hurt here with some words of wisdom for those of you on the verge of graduation! Be sure to pop by her lovely blog or check her out on Twitter :) And without further ado, here's Holly:

A NICE SAFE MAJOR

Graduation’s getting closer—and for some of you, that means you’re staring college square in the eye.

Which means you’re getting advice coming at you from all angles, about what college to attend and how to find a nice, safe major.

My take? There is no such thing as a safe major.

I got all kinds of grief for being a literature / creative writing student. Back when I was going to school, the “safe” major for anyone interested in writing was journalism. Since I graduated, though, newspapers have folded at an alarming rate. I’d bet that right now, anyone in college claiming to be a journalism major is met with the same, “What do you honestly think you’re going to do with THAT?” kind of questions I dealt with all through college.

And the other thing is, it’s hard to forge your way in any career. You’ll work every bit as hard on your second choice as you would on your first. You should be working, then, on whatever it is that makes you the absolute happiest—whether that’s journalism, creative writing, literature, art... Follow your heart, no matter how crazy it seems. Make sure you’re chasing your passions. Chasing your passions, in my estimation, really is the key to happiness…

Thanks so much for dropping by with advice, Holly! :)