Early in Fall Quarter freshman year, everyone asks each other, “What’s your major?” It’s a nice way to find out whether you and other freshmen have something in common and if not, to find out what they are passionate about and what they like to do. The problem is that many people often reply with “I don’t know,” or “I haven’t declared anything yet.” When that happens it’s almost as if you’re trying to walk into a conversation with a dead end.

But in a way that made me inexplicably happy, I wasn’t one of those students. From the first week onward, my answer to that questions was certain: “I’m a computer science major.”

It was a decision I had made a few months before I came here. Throughout high school I thought I was going to be an engineer. I was taking difficult physics and chemistry courses and trying to get good scores on my SATs because engineering schools were very selective and I needed to be the best I could be. But after having some difficulties with physics my senior year of high school, I told myself I couldn’t take four more years of it.

In the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, I had taken an introductory programming course at a college. I loved it. The fact that I could build things by writing lines of code had inspired me. Besides this, even before I enjoyed programming, I had consistently been the “computer guy.” I had always enjoyed tinkering with all sorts of programs on my computer and finding the newest apps and games.

All these factors led me to thinking about computer science as my major. Combining my newfound love of programming and my decision to drop engineering, I thought computer science was the right path to follow.

At the end of my Spring Quarter freshman year, it appeared to still be the right path. I had enjoyed my computer science classes until then. In meetings with my adviser, I had told him my decision to pursue computer science was the one I was surest about.

Today, a quarter and a half later, I’m seriously reconsidering.

This quarter, I dropped a computer science class for the first time. I’ve admitted to myself that I haven’t enjoyed my computer science classes nearly as much as I loved programming in that first class I took, and I’m realizing that computer science may not actually be the right decision for me.

Luckily, I came to this realization early enough. I’m only in my fifth quarter here at Northwestern, so I have plenty of time to start and finish a new major I would like and still graduate in four years.

Here at NU, we are very lucky — it is tremendously easy for us to switch schools and majors. NU is a school that embraces students who change their minds.

While you have such an easy opportunity to change your mind, take the time to consider your decision. For a second, stop and think for a moment whether you really enjoy what you are doing. If you don’t, what’s the point in putting yourself through stress and difficulty? What’s the point in forcing yourself through hours of classes and even more hours of work about things that don’t really interest you? Is it worth the time, the energy and whatever else it will take away from you?

To me, it doesn’t seem so.

Yoni Pinto is a Weinberg sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a letter to the editor to [email protected].