When “Following Your Passion” Turns Into Academic Burnout

[violajones]

I came to college in Los Angeles convinced I had to major in film because that’s what I loved in high school. Everyone quoted Steve Jobs at graduation and told us to follow our passion. Two years in, I’m exhausted, anxious, and secretly wondering if I even like it anymore. Has anyone else felt trapped by the major they once dreamed about? How did you figure out whether it was just stress or a sign you chose wrong?

[robertbrown]

I felt this hard during my sophomore year at NYU. I went in pre-law because I idolized Ruth Bader Ginsburg and thought that meant I had to suffer through it. By midterms I was sleeping four hours a night and staring at case briefs with zero spark. I even googled assignment writing help and wondered if I should hire an essay writer just to survive constitutional law. I never actually paid someone to do my homework, but the fact that I considered it scared me. That was my wake-up call. I talked to an advisor, switched to public policy, and my GPA went up a full point. Stress is normal. Feeling hollow isn’t. If your ambition is costing you your sense of self, that’s data. Not weakness.