<p>I have come here because of an overwhelming feeling of desperation that is reverberating through me second after second. It wont leave me alone, it keeps bugging me, and it must be dealt with before the dawn of my sophomore year.</p>
<p>I am currently a freshman in college. Major: unknown. You see, I have this problem. I love everything, but not anything. Im a generalist to the fullest extent one can be a generalist, but any specific detail I throw to the back of my mind as unimportant and uninteresting. I am a ravenous beast that gallops through subjects, stealing out their general theories, perspectives, and ways of seeing the world. I devour new ways to look at what it means to be human, to exist, and to be. But when it comes to anything practical, anything that is useful in solving the worlds problems, I turn my head away in a lame lethargy. </p>
<p>Sorry, Im going on an unnecessary rant. </p>
<p>So yes, I love the general principles behind things, but not the fine details. I know that Im supposed to pick just one subject, dive into it, know everything about it, become an expert on it, etc. All of which are contrary to my being.</p>
<p>Is there any way to avoid this? Is there any way that I can pursue all knowledge in its most general form without having to just learn one subject?</p>
<p>Ive had a bit of trouble explaining myself. If youre confused, please ask questions and Ill answer them.</p>
<p>Now, first, undergraduate education will not make you an “expert” in anything. At best, it will give you the tools to become an expert sometime in the future. You’re not there to solve the world’s problems, or even your own (though some of those will evaporate with time).</p>
<p>So… start thinking about wide fields of study. Do you dig the physical sciences and the beauty of mathematics? Are you thrilled when a new layer of meaning appears from some 4 inch thick Russian novel? Does how we got to where we are float your boat? Would you like to build a boat? Do you love art or love to make art? How are your language skills? Get it?</p>
<p>In addition to Philosophy, you might look into History and Sociology of Science, or just plain Sociology or History. Anthropology is another possibility. Do not under any circumstance wonder what kind of a job you can get with one of these majors.</p>
<p>Finally, don’t worry if you pick the wrong major. The majority of students change majors at least once.</p>
<p>WilliamC correctly pointed out that an undergraduate education will not make you an expert in anything. I would like to add that many colleges do not even want you to specialize on a more than superficial level.</p>
<p>At my college, for example, we need 32 courses for graduation. Most majors require no more than 12 courses, so after declaring a major we still have 20 courses left to be as much of a generalist as we would like. </p>
<p>Or in other terms, you may only need 1.5 courses in a subject per semester to complete a major in that subject. And depending on the major, those courses may not even need to be in the same subject. For example, we may count economics, sociology, history and philosophy classes towards a political science major at my college. That doesn’t sound too bad, does it? </p>
<p>I like WilliamC’s advice: just start taking classes in the general area you are interested in (sciences or humanities or…) and see how things go from there.</p>
<p>I always thought part of college was to discover what you love. Just take lots of classes and select what challenges and excites you. Some people come into college knowing they want to be a marine biologist or whatever but that is the vast minority I think, so don’t worry about it.</p>