Today started out deliciously.
Yes, ma’am.
A big plate of French toast topped with cinnamon, chia seeds and syrup was exactly what I was craving this morning. I’ve actually been craving French toast for more than a week now, but have been too lazy to make it.
Pretty sure it’s ridiculously easy to make and takes five minutes… not sure why I’ve been too lazy!
Digging into the sweet, doughy bread is worth the extra effort!
Importance of Electives
When I was on the UCF campus last Friday, a bunch of college memories came rushing back to me.
As I walked around campus, I passed buildings where I attended class regularly, most of them in the communications building since I majored in advertising and public relations.
I did have a handful of classes in other buildings for my minor (marketing), undergraduate prerequisite classes and electives.
When I first got to college, I remember feeling annoyed by the fact that UCF required its students to take a certain number of electives.
It wasn’t until I took an elective class that I absolutely loved the second semester of my senior year that I understood the importance of electives. (I saved most of my electives for my senior year so I would have an “easier” time at the end of my college career.)
The elective was personal fitness and we learned all about nutrition, health, physical fitness and the science behind it all. I was fascinated and honestly enjoyed studying the material and found myself absorbing the information like a sponge.
My experience during my final semester in college makes me wonder how many people change their major after taking an elective class and falling in love with the material. I truly believe that if I had taken my personal fitness class earlier in my college career, I would’ve switched majors.
I’m very happy with my degree, but during personal fitness it was like a light went off in my mind and a spark ignited.
Questions of the Morning
- Did you have to take elective classes in college or high school? Did you have a favorite class or one that you absolutely loathed?
- Do you think elective classes are important?
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Electives were my fave!! But I took tons of education and music classes which were really fun too. I randomly took 2 computer programming classes. They were fun!! I actually did pretty well because I had to study while the other nerds just winged it. Haha.
My college did not have any electives like that, it was a smaller school and the most “elective-like” course was an intro to psychology. Nothing was as much fun as a PT class would have been!
In high school my main electives were select chorus and group chorus. I also had photography sprinkled in there with I’m sure something else since I know that was only a half year class.
In college I didn’t have very much room for electives. Most people choose their majors after their freshmen year as I attended a science-heavy school. I did manage to take a music class and modern dance, as well as a 1 credit chorus each semester. Other than that though, that was it!
I would have liked to take electives as an undergrad but there were so many Gen Ed requirements we had to fulfill that I wasn’t able to take any unfortunately 🙁
Electives are so important and I am kicking myself for not taking more! They are a great way to meet people outside your major as well discover new hobbies and interests!
As a high school art teacher, I agree that electives are SO important. For so many students, these classes are the only place they shine and the only reason they come to school each day! It’s a shame that our funding gets cut and we’re always the lowest priority in the school system… I’ll stop myself here. 🙂
I loved taking electives in college- I took a bunch of psych classes- probably enough for a whole other degree!
I took a law, societies and justice class last year for the sole reason that it wasn’t 8:30 econ, and the LSJ class changed my life.
I am taking a religion elective right now, and it is so interesting! 🙂
I’m in my 3rd year in college and after taking a psychology elective last year I changed my major! Very helpful!
The Psychology class I took as an elective sophomore year caused me to change my major and my entire career path!!!
Yes I’m so thankful for electives or I would not be in the field I am today! I took a nutrition class to fulfill an elective requirement and fell in love. I switched a few weeks into it!
Julie,
I was also a communications major. I caught on to fitness/nutrition as you did in my later college career. I definitely would have changed majors, too. In fact, I’ve gone back for my personal training and nutrition certification to do as a side job while I work as a newspaper reporter full-time.
It’s not too late to go back to school or become certified in something you enjoy!
Your french toast looks delish! May I recommend something my sister’s boyfriend came up with this past weekend: french toast dipped in light eggnog and eggbeaters instead of milk and eggs. Add some vanilla and xtra cinnamon=a-mazing!
I didn’t end up changing my major, but I added a writing minor because of a required writing elective I had to take. I’m so glad I did, because it’s shaped my whole career path since!
Yum your french toast looks great! We did have to take a bunch of electives at my school and I remember thinking early on that I wanted to change my major to Exercise Science but I kept being swayed back to the sciences so I could go to med school (so laughable now because I didn’t really want that). I’m so glad that I kicked my butt in gear and changed to Exercise Science because I LOVED it 😀
I definitely think elective classes are important! I also saved a lot of mine for senior year… haha. I took Aerobics (workout and class at the same time!), drawing, and figure skating! All were great experiences!
Funny, I was JUST talking about this the other day. I don’t really understand how colleges keep raising tuition, keep adding these unnecessary classes, and are STILL in financial trouble. It really doesn’t make any sense.
I’m taking two nutrition classes right now that I LOVE!! One is fundamentals and is about the role that all the different nutrients play in our bodies and the other is called obesity, weight control, and fitness and is SUPER interesting and presents a different side of nutrition!
It’s so funny that you wrote about this today– I literally just wrote about how I sampled 22 different departments at my school, though my “sampling” was mostly due to indecision. I think it would have worked better for me if I wasn’t allowed to try so many different depts… it took me wayyyy too long to finally settle on a major, and I still don’t know what I want to do with my life. BUT, I think it’s a great requirement for someone like my husband, who would have only taken math and science classes if he could have his way. I think electives help the average student gain a little bit of perspective about their education, and help them meet people they wouldn’t otherwise meet.
I took a health writing class when I was working on my M.A. in Journalism. It prompted me to get into health/fitness/nutrition journalism. I ended up liking it so much I am back in school for a second master’s. In May, I’ll have an M.S. in Exercise Science and Health Promotion. I really wish I would have taken a fitness related class an an undergrad..I have a feeling I’d be on a totally different career path right now! I love writing, but I’d still love to work with people.
We’re required to take electives too. I think most colleges are really stressing this so students get a broad and well-rounded college experience. As a marketing major I have never wanted to switch to anything else but I’d love to take a baking class!
I think it’s SO important to take electives, if for nothing else than to allow your mind a little creativity.
I actually changed my major to nutrition after taking a 1 credit elective. I went in as biology, but fell in love with the subject after someone from the nutrition department gave a presentation in my class.
Ohh your french toast looks delicious! I haven’t had french toast in way too long but I need to change that soon! That’s really interesting about the electives and what an impact they had! My school didn’t really have electives but I ended up using mine on classes when I was abroad that my school didn’t count. I think it would have been cool to get to take an elective course though that was fun like that!
I was one of those people who changed their career based on electives! I was a journalism major, but took a lot of marketing & advertising electives. When I graduated I started working in news, but new I wanted to pursue marketing. Now I work at an ad agency and love it! I would never have made that switch if it weren’t for electives!
Yes, I love (most) electives, and I think it’s pretty important like you stated! I loved taking the child development through art course because not only did we get to make a lot of art pieces, but through those activities, we also learned how to teach kids the importance of the arts as well as their development and psychology through it. 🙂 I also re-discovered in that class that I have always loved creating art and have a little bit of a 1/2 talent in it,although I wouldn’t consider myself great at it.
I went to a technical college and the Broadcast Journalism program didn’t allow for any electives. However, in highschool, I decided to switch to a fine arts school in Grade nine. For my electives, I took drama, directing and script-writing (we wrote and directed a play) and television arts (we had our own tv show that aired on local cable and we could pick to be on air or behind the scenes!!) It was so cool because that really helped me decide a career in TV news was perfect for me 🙂 PS You should definitely think about a career in health and fitness!!
I know exactly what you mean. I am in my last year of college and I never took the time to explore other options. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling scared of finishing and going out into “the real world”, but now I feel like maybe if I had taken the time to even consider other options, I would have switched my major. But now it’ kind of late for that.
I was a business major and we only got 2 electives. I was annoyed that I didn’t get more!
French toast for the win! Yours looks so much better than any time I have ever attempted to make it!
I was always annoyed in middle school that the only electives were choir/band or art. I can’t carry a tune and hated art…I was screwed!
I have an MSc in exercise physiology. At my university in order to get in to the MSc program you had to take kenesiology or biology/chemistry for undergrad. A class called “personal fitness” would have been a nice break! lol I wish we had that at my school.
My school didn’t require a lot of electives, but I wish it had! I know that if I had been required to, I would have taken a nutrition class because I’ve always had an interest in it. I decided to major in education because I liked math and it seemed like a good career. Now that I’m out in the field, I’ve figured out that it’s not right for me. Thankfully, I’m fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go back to school to study what I truly am passionate about, and I’m going to do just that! I’m so excited 🙂
This is TOTALLY unrelated but I just watched your wedding video from one of your really early posts and it was so beautiful!
My sister is getting married in July and I have been struggling to think of nice ideas for gifts. (I’m terrible at knowing what to do at weddings and I’m the maid of honor so you can imaging how stressed it’s making me!)
The video captured all of the happiest moments of your wedding and I just loved it. I might try and do something similar for my sister now 🙂
Have a great day!
At our university you have to complete a GLER to graduate (general liberal arts requirement). I was a biochem major doing pre-pharmacy and was so annoyed that I has to take a bunch of other classes.
Turns out, I took a psych class and loved it, then took a child development class and loved that. I switched my major to psych, finished out my 4 year degree and then went straight into a 4 year nursing degree. Interestingly enough, I work on pediatrics and psychiatry. Maybe those people at the university know what they are doing!
I felt the same way about electives in school. I went to a small private liberal arts college and we had to take more than an entire year’s worth of electives. Looking back, they probably taught me more than the courses in my major. Specifically, I think I’m a much better writer because of all those courses.
I had to take a graphic design class for my journalism major senior year and I loved it! The major itself is pretty art based so not sure if I could’ve survived the switch – plus it was a little late in the game anyways – but I always think back to that.
I graduated this past May with my marketing degree, but I’m already back in school to take prereqs for medical school (I want to be a psychiatrist)..complete change, but I totally think it’s worth it. I love it!! I’m also hoping to become a certified personal trainer over the winter..you should study to be one too! i think you’d be great at it 🙂
I feel that my life is still in beta too. Once we get the bugs out it will be phenomenal. Look my son up on WarCraft, I’ve been trynig to laugh at him for being such a nerd but while he’s playing that scary game he’s not being arrested, doing drugs or getting anyone pregnant, so I’m a fan : )
I think electives are so important to get you out of your element! Now that I have gone back to school that is bigger then my first, I am amazed at the opportunities to learn! I am in an elective class where we are training for a marathon..how cool is that?!
My boyfriend actually switched his major after taking an elective our freshman year of college. Talk about a light going off—he’s now pursuing his PhD in this subject!
I love electives! I took summer school every year to give myself more room fir them! After taking an intro writing course and then one called “writing for publication” I had a life crisis and started ti change everything to set me up for journalism! So I’d say electives are extremely important!
I am a Nutrition Major and I”m only in my second year and haven’t had too many major classes yet; but the ones I”ve taken, I have loved. One of my favorite classes has been cultural geography. I learned about a lot of issues everywhere, Middle East, Africa, ect. It was awesome and made me realize how much I didn’t know about the world outside of our country and how little other people know about other places.
I never went to college, which is probably a good thing because even at 28, I am still deciding what I want to be when I grow up! 🙂
As part of my journalism degree we had a bunch of electives within the field and then could take some wider electives elsewhere in the university. I really loved a political communication class I took and wanted to take some more general politics classes but wasn’t allowed because they were on a different campus (still in the same city). I’ve always wondered if my career would have turned out differently if I’d been allowed to take them.
I did have to take electives, but unfortunately they were all boring classes. They weren’t truly “electives” because I had to pick between a certain group of classes. I SO wish I could go back and take nutrition related classes (since I figured out that’s what I’m truly passionate about) but…I can’t.
I definitely appreciated my electives, though I used them a bit differently. At the time I was pretty focused on advertising and knew it was what I wanted to go into so I focused on taking graduate level communications course and one research course that was outside of my school of study, but still related to my field. They didn’t expose me to new areas but I do believe they were crucial to helping me get the job I wanted in my field. I came in with a much deeper level of experience than a lot of my peers had, which can be helpful in securing internships and a first job since undergrad resumes can have the tendency to all look the same. For me, being able to do whatever I could to stand out really helped and I got a job immediately upon graduation that has given me opportunities over time, so it definitely worked.
I think the hard part is you never know what is going to spark an interest. Many people find their major is perfect for what they want to do or graduate and realize they weren’t so passionate about it after all. And the fact of the matter is people still often change their mind once they are out in the working world and I’m not sure any amount of electives can prevent that.
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