For a while now, I’ve been struggling to decide what I want to major in. I’ve flip-flopped between many different ideas. I started with chemical engineering, thought about biochemistry, considered environmental engineering, briefly looked into environmental science and also civil engineering. 

I originally started with chemical engineering because I like chemistry, but I didn’t want to major in just plain chemistry. I hadn’t anticipated how difficult this major would be. The homework takes between four to seven eight to do because it’s so difficult, and it’s nearly impossible to read. In fact, the other night my friends and I spent three hours or more just trying to figure out the first part (part “a”) of two problems. 

However, despite the soul-crushing difficulty of this class, I’m thinking it’s something I should still pursue. After all, college isn’t supposed to be easy, right? I wouldn’t expect a university to just hand out diplomas for majors that come with so much responsibility. And right now, it might seem boring to me because all we’re doing is basic material balances, but later on I’ll actually get hands on experience.

So, with my major mostly decided on, it was time to figure out what concentration I should do. UMass offers several different concentrations for chemical engineering: biochemical, alternative fuels, and polymers (supposedly the best program in the country). For me, this was an easy decision. I’ve always been interested in biology, and biochemistry was one of the majors I considered before I even entered college. And the biochemical engineering program is unique because it mixes the biology, biochem, and chem eng students to work together. Sounds like a good time, right?

As of today, I’m aiming for chemical engineering with a concentration in biochemical engineering. There will be tears shed, there will be countless sleepless nights, there will be emotional breakdowns, but I’m going for it. It’s probably going to be the most difficult three years of my life, but you know, I’ll look like a fucking bad ass next to those English majors when I graduate with a degree in Biochemical Engineering.