Sadie Says - Find Your Sweet Spot

There are many beauties surrounding college life. And when I say that, I’m sure that most of your minds tend towards the typical perks of what college offers: the unending independence, the freedom of a vibrant social life, or doing everything on your own terms.

However, what I find most rewarding about my college experience so far is the freedom to study and immerse myself in what I am passionate about.

Growing up in the public school system, there isn’t much choice in what courses you can take. There is a certain pathway for any subject, whether you take mathematics, English, or science. You can’t just take AP Calculus if you don’t have a basic understanding of Algebra, Geometry, and Pre-Calculus, and so on.

Therefore, it’s easy to feel confined or rigid in your coursework and lack tangible interest in what you’re learning.

When I arrived at Saint Mary’s, my eyes were easily opened, realizing that I had the opportunity to embark on numerous different career paths and explore my interests – and they would still count for credit and further my college education!

This opened up a world of possibility for me, the daughter of an English teacher mother and a finance-oriented father. I had done well in most of the courses I took in high school (if we don’t count Geometry or AP Calculus, but again, we move on!), but I had never embarked outside of my comfort zone of English and History courses.

I knew that in the long run, I would not end up an English or History teacher; that had no appeal to me. As someone afflicted with endless indecision, I was quite lost on what to study in college and where to move on from the structured courseload I had become accustomed to.

I had always felt a strong leaning towards leadership and sports, being the longtime captain of my club and high school soccer teams. Translating that into a major, I decided to pursue Sports Management – I wanted to explore the realm of business and see if it was right for me.

And after a semester and a half completed at Saint Mary’s, I can confidently say I am definitely in the right major and on the right career path.

To begin the year, I started off hesitantly, never having taken courses such as Accounting or Marketing before. However, soon enough, I found myself heavily engaged and interested in the course content.

I got excited to tell my friends in STEM majors about the new things I was learning, as well as share the real-life connections I got to make. Networking events were giving me a glimpse of where I could be in a few years, and these events were proof of what my future holds.

Even more so, I get to give presentations and put work into what I am passionate about. In my Management class, we were required throughout the semester to give three separate presentations, whether that be a case study, on current events, or a discussion question from the book.

Each offered an opportunity to inform my peers of what avenues I would take to solve an issue in the business world, and it demonstrated the possible change I could make in this industry.

Business casual attire is pretty fun to dress up in, too!

All in all, the coolest thing has been to see everyone around me partake in something they find interesting and want to learn about. My friends have subjected me to numerous Chemistry or Biology rants, and while I don’t necessarily understand them, I love seeing them involved in what makes sense in their brain.

For me, I will never find quantum mechanics fascinating, and I surely never want to take a lab on discovering different ions through the use of multiple solutions to undergo quantitative analysis (that actually sounds like my worst nightmare!).

But I will now gladly engross myself in the wonders of search engine optimization, management styles, and target market demographics. I may have not initially known this was my path, but I sure am happy that I found my sweet spot!

So, my advice to you, Sadie Says readers, is to learn about what makes you happy. Find your niche and find something that you could talk about for hours, and that is proof of your sweet spot.

And for you, that might be astrobiology, ecogastronomy, or theme park technology! The opportunities are truly endless, and I encourage you to go onwards until you find what brings you joy.  It doesn't have to be the mainstream path or make sense to anyone else; at the end of the day, you deserve to be involved in what you're passionate about.