The real reason for my multiple majors

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about my recent decision to:

• Major in Computer Science (this was not a recent decision)
• Major in Engineering Psychology
• Minor in German

The main reasons I gave were:

• Lots of free space in my schedule (Computer Science is not a very big major, by number of classes)
• It would be a shame to waste a college education with easy-ish classes to fill up space

I also gave another reason:

• My brain likes pushing things

I think I’m starting to realize that this is a pretty significant factor.

For whatever reason, I like setting goals and completing them. It feels cool to be able to set a goal that requires a bit more commitment than usual, tell people you’re doing it, and then to follow through.

Granted, that’s probably not a particularly healthy inclination to have. But I think it can be a significant motivating factor for me.

Once I’ve started something, I want to complete it neatly and fully. Sometimes I use that trait to force myself to take a diligent set of notes for a semester of college. Here, it means really wanting to finish the majors I’ve said I would do.