How did I choose my major?

1. How did I choose my major?

2. .
Four people
described the way
they chose their
majors, read the texts
and answer the
questions.

3. Hi! I am Michelle and I come from
Medellin. I would like to tell you how I
chose my major because I think this is
an important decision. Before I arrived in
Bogota, I wanted to be a photojournalist
since I was a member of the scouts at
school and took lots of photos of our
trips and adventures. I can express
myself through photography and
document what is happening to others
through my perspective.
MICHELLE

4. However, when I got here something funny
happened to me and my plans changed. One
day, I was taking pictures in a shopping
center and I noticed there was a fashion show
taking place there. I got interested since I
think fashion and clothes are awesome and,
on the runway, the colors and shapes were
very cool and vibrant! So, I finally changed
my mind from photojournalism to fashion
photography and now I’m majoring in fashion
design and photography.
MICHELLE

5. Well, when I arrived in this city I wanted
to major in environmental engineering
because I’m aware of our current
environmental issues. I come from
Cartagena and I have seen the way
tourists and locals polluted my city, so I
used to read about climate change,
acid rain, air pollution, greenhouse
gases and so on.
SARA

6. After a month of being here in Bogota, I
attended a congress about marine
problems in the Caribbean sea. There, I
saw a passionate lecturer and her speech
suddenly made me more interested in
ocean issues. Last year I decided to study
marine biology and now I’m very happy
since I am learning about life in the oceans
and other saltwater environments.
SARA

7. I have always lived in Bogotá with my family
and I love it a lot since most of the greatest
companies to work at are located here.
When I was at school, I liked both math
and management, so I didn’t know which
major to choose. I thought about business
management, economy or accounting.
JUSTIN

8. One day my mom, who is an economist, called me because
she wanted to know about my decision. In that call, she
mentioned the benefits of her major. She said that she was
better at making certain financial decisions, she could work
at different companies and fields, and gain respect from
people. I also talked to my best friend John who is an
accountant. He used to work at my mom’s company but now
he’s working on his own. He is now a consultant and makes
a lot of money. He loves his job.
In the end, I chose systems engineering, to be honest, I
didn’t like what they told me about their careers and jobs,
plus I really like computers.
JUSTIN

9. I really love art because I think it is a universal
language and big companies such as Coca
Cola or Apple have somehow used it to sell
their products. I have always been into logo
design, shapes, and color combinations. I am
also into the way TV commercials are made. I
consider storytelling a powerful tool to sell
products. I love reading and writing stories
about diverse topics and that’s why studying
advertising was always an option from the
beginning.
STEVEN

10. When I arrived from Medellin, I
talked to Michelle and she helped
a lot with this decision and gave
great tips to choose my major. She
suggested making a list of all the
things I loved, things I was
interested in, and things I could do
well. After writing that list I felt a
little bit more confident about my
decision.
STEVEN

11. Michelle, who also comes
from Medellin, also told
me that if I study
advertising, we could
team-up and open our
own agency there; so I
didn’t think about it twice
and now I’m studying
advertising.
STEVEN