Once you find your major, it feels like home

My best friend Nikki once told me, "Once you know your genre, it feels like home." Knowing my vocal strengths and having a love affair with Early Jazz and Bossa Nova is similar to finding the right fit of college major for me. I'm not even exaggerating. In every single minute of my Cultural Anthropology classes, my mind is screaming, "Finally, this is everything I've ever wanted to do!"

Okay, backtrack to my post last year:

You might think it’s not important because people end up not using their degree on their jobs anyway, but I want to be able to choose a major which will glorify Him the most. What good is taking up a major that my family wants (eg. computer science, or accounting), or that I want (eg. theater or philosophy) if it doesn’t have something to do with God’s calling in my life? Though I am very sure He won’t let that happen, because things perfectly fall into place, for everything that happens is part of His plan.

I know I can honor God with whatever career I will choose, but the question now is, which will glorify Him most in my life? So the choice is not mine, but His, because He obviously knows what’s best.

**You can read the full post here.

For two years, I have prayed for God to reveal the major He wants me to take, and I got no response. I've started college and everything, and still no answer. Looking back, I feel like He's been working on it, though that's just from my point of view. So now I'm sharing how messy my life was without the direction or purpose that is really intended specifically for me. :) And yes, I don't believe in coincidences.

WARNING: This section contains senseless bragging. Please don't take it seriously. :D

Senior year of high school, I was filling out the UP college admission form. I put Diliman as my first choice of campus, with Theater and Broadcast Communication as my top 2 majors. Then I put Baguio (for some reason) as my second choice of campus, with Communication and Social Anthropology as my top 2 majors. Baguio is also home to the Cordillera Studies Center -- UP's research arm focusing on the indigenous cultures of the Cordillera mountains. I got accepted for their Communication program, and remained clueless about Social Anthropology. I only chose SocAn 'cause it sounded smart. Haha! I excelled in my major because I love writing, researching, and public speaking. (And because I am the cramming type of student who has a very hyped up short-term memory during long exams, or long-term if I go without reviewing, and can write a 5-page paper in under an hour. [insert evil laugh here])

Kidding aside, the time came for me to apply for transfer to the flagship campus, which is UP Diliman. I fell in-love with Philosophy while studying at Baguio because of that adrenaline rush I always get when I argue. I was taking my chances at Diliman and applying for whatever is available. I was also taking summer classes so I wasn't able to take the exam for Broadcast Communication and Film. When the day came for me to take the exam for Philosophy, I had to renew my passport so I was not able to come. All that was left for me was Anthropology, so I came in for the interview and got accepted. I remember the professor who interviewed me asking if I would choose Anthro over Philo, and what I wanted to do with Anthro, and if I'd be willing to spend years of my life doing fieldwork. I was scared of the thought back then. Years of my life for a freakin' research?! I just answered yes to his questions, but at the back of my head I was saying, "NO WAY." I'm not sure if he could tell I was lying. Hahaha!

I didn't go through with it because I got my student visa, and transferred here at the United States. The major on my I-20 was Accounting, which was then changed to Computer Science, and back again. I also had this crazy thought of majoring in Criminal Justice, fantasizing about working in the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit someday. :P A few months after struggling with the thought of myself working in an office doing a mainstream job, I wrote a letter to my parents expressing my real feelings about what major I want to take and the awareness of what kind of life I would have if I chose that major.

So last summer, I finally settled for Communication. Something still bothered me, though. I just didn't feel satisfied. Communication is already part of my life; I didn't have to major in it. But I knew for sure I was particularly interested in Intercultural Communication. I love travelling and studying about cultures. The real premise of studying here in the United States is not to get a better job when I graduate, but to be trained for world missions, because that's what I really wanted. I wasn't surprised when I was brought here to Los Angeles, the melting pot of different world cultures.

Fall semester came, and I was frustrated 'cause all I got was 12 units, almost all of which are night classes. I had to register for GEs I needed to transfer to USC, and so I stumbled upon a Cultural Anthropology class. Little did I know that my heart was going to be set upon something. I love every bit of that class, and the more I discover about other people's cultures and behaviors, the more I knew that it was definitely for me. Fieldwork doesn't seem like a waste of time anymore, but more like an investment on people's lives, building relationships with them, and seeing how amazingly unique and diverse God's creation is. And maybe after that, God would show me how He's reaching out to His people in the midst of culture.

I joined the Anthropology Society in my campus soon afterwards,  and it feels amazing to be surrounded by people who are also knowledgeable about different cultures, and has that same hunger to know more about people and their behaviors. There hasn't been any formal declaration of this major yet, but just knowing that another piece of the puzzle of that purpose set specifically for me is now falling into place gives me joy. It definitely feels like home. :)

God has perfect timing, never early and never late. The choice has been there all along, and He knew I never would have chosen it without knowing about it and really loving it. Those two years of waiting is worth it. All along, I knew that He is in control of every detail in my life. That being said, I held on to the thought that there's a specific direction He wants me to take when it comes to my major, no matter how insignificant it may seem. There's a joy that comes when you're doing what you are called to do. :)

 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.   -Romans 12:2