My chronic migraines began when I was 15. When I say I was bedridden for a year and a half, it’s not an exaggeration. High school changed and I had to finish through independent study. When graduation time came, I was still too sick to attend, let alone walk.
I started to develop the idea that I needed to make up for the lost time. I had known since I was 13 that I wanted to attend California Baptist University, but what would I major in? I hated how people only saw me for my disability. It was hard for me to even accept it as a disability. I hated how so many accommodations needed to be made for me, so my determination to finally becoming “important” grew.
I chose to major in nursing for a few reasons. One was that I knew constant physical pain and wanted to help others who struggled with this, as well. Yet the wrong reasons were the ones that prevailed. I wanted to sound important. I wanted to feel important. I wanted to be able to walk the campus of CBU knowing I was seen as a “cool” major. One of the majors that gets all the funding and praise. I wanted to be able to sit at family gatherings and replace the times I had to leave early due to migraines with bragging about how great training was going.
I wanted my family, both immediate and extended, to finally be proud of me. I wanted to be seen as important by man, but also God. So one of the worst, yet best, feelings in the world came during spring break of 2018 when I realized God was calling me to something different. I realized he was calling me to creative writing. Soon I went from the classrooms of 150 students to 20. It’s funny how my secret backup major has ended up being the degree I will receive next semester.
A student’s major should not be what defines them. And their major is no less important just because it is not nursing, or engineering, or architecture or business. A student’s major is important because it is what God has called them to, and who God has called them to be. Individuals should walk around campus feeling important knowing they are pursuing God’s plan for their life—to take the talent he has given them, and use it to glorify him.
Maybe a student is majoring in something because of family pressure or because it’s the only way to keep a scholarship. Or maybe you’re an individual who wants to feel and sound valuable.
I cannot know everyone’s situation, but I do know this: If students choose to spend the rest of their life dancing and singing on a stage, or writing books or creating art, they are no less valuable than the ones who build houses or own businesses or perform surgery. God calls us each to different areas of life. Never be ashamed of what he has called you to be.
