Choosing Classes

Choosing classes for the following term is always an exciting time. This year, being a sophomore, there is the added urgency of having to choose a direction for my academic life at Dartmouth. So when I sat down and chose classes yesterday I was not only thinking about next term, but also about the next three years in a way that I had never done before. Next term I’m taking a geography course on Urban Politics, a course on French medieval literature, and a course on modern architecture. Today I think I will be a Geography major with either a minor in Spanish or a major in Romance Languages. Did I think I would be either when I arrived at Dartmouth? No - and this is far from uncommon.

I came here with a few expectations for myself. First, I knew I wanted to keep taking French classes so as to not lose proficiency; I also wanted to become proficient in Spanish. It looks like these will be my only starting expectations that carry through. I thought I would want to be a Government or Neuroscience major. My thinking was that I should be interested in international relations, a Government subfield, and I knew I was interested in neuroscience.

Well, I found out that I don’t like the study of international relations. The study involves too much theory for my taste. As for neuroscience, it was the major itself I found I had a problem with. I just couldn’t have done a science major, with all the requirements it entails (Computer Science, Chemistry, etc.), and still pursued the study of two languages. Not because this is impossible here at Dartmouth, but because there are too many amazing classes I would miss. Basically, my interests are too broad. Luckily, there are plenty of classes offered here to fulfill my random interests.

Freshman fall I took a class on Russian and Eastern European film, art, and literature in the 19th and 20th centuries. It turned out to be one of the best classes I’ve taken. It was a lot of work: reading, writing, analyzing movies I barely understood. But the class was absolutely fascinating. It was taught by two professors and there were only six students. That’s right, one professor for three students. This is why sometimes you should follow your most random instincts. It doesn’t matter if it's a class numbered 72 in a department you didn’t know existed. I discovered a new favorite author and had the opportunity to write a 15 page paper on a Czech film I loved and would never have seen otherwise. It’s opportunities like this I didn’t want to miss out on by filling my time completely.

I stumbled upon a geography class in much the same way. Now, I think I’ll major in it. The field has proven to be the right mix of political science, anthropology, history, economics, and data analysis for me. I won’t chronicle how I came to the conclusion that I required a ‘mix’ of these things.

As for my pursuit of French and Spanish, the college has a Romance Languages major that is right up my alley. Six major-level courses in one primary language and four in a second. I’m very excited to get to live in Mexico for a term this spring and hopefully I will be able to get an internship in France soon. After graduation? I would love to move to Spain for a few years.
In conclusion, things are all coming together well for me. But I don’t doubt that this will have changed somewhat, or a lot, very soon. I’m sure the course guide has a few more twists of fate in store for me, and that’s just great.