What is Second Seminar? Major Decisions, Without Major Stress

When I tell people I am a Teacher’s Assistant for Second Seminar (IDS 295: Second Seminar, Designing a Life That Matters) people almost always want to know more about what the class is all about. In response, I usually try and sum up everything Second Sem is within two to three sentences and what I have found is that is something extremely hard to do. Sure, it’s easy to tell people it’s a 2 credit class and that it counts toward your GLD requirement, but it gets more complicated when I try and dig in to what it really meant for me last semester when I was in the class myself.  

For me personally, Second Sem may well be the most meaningful class I have ever taken and will ever take in my life. The time spent in the class taught me how to look inward and find what I was truly meant to do; what God has called me to do, not what I thought I should do or what other people told me I needed to do. I learned I have a purpose, that I am significant, and that what I will do with my life will make an impact. I learned that it is not so much what you do as how you do it. For example, I feel that my purpose in life is to bring people joy and exemplify the love of Jesus for all. This is my vocation; this is my calling. What major I choose, what job I end up in is of less importance than how I choose to live in to my calling. Exemplifying joy and love are things I will be able to do no matter what profession I call mine. While I do have a dream job as most people do, because of this class, I now worry less about my major, my career, and “the rest of my life” and focus more on living out my calling every day. 

Second Sem has taught me that not only is it okay not to have my entire life planned out, but, in fact, that it is wonderful not to. It has taught me that there is not one right major for me, not one right job for me, not one right life for me, but there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of good options. I get the freedom of choosing my path step by step, enabling me to fully enjoy every moment I am given instead of worrying about the next.  

Finally, Second Seminar has taught me that my life is so much more than the classes I take now, the major I choose now, and the job(s) I choose later. This class exposes the myth that my major will decide the rest of my life. You do not choose your life when you choose your major or a job/career. You are so much more than your career, and if you follow your vocation, your calling, you will realize this because it will extend to every part of your life. You can live out your calling within your friendships and the way you greet strangers on the street, and the beautiful thing about Second Sem is that it teaches you how to do this. Through this class, one will learn to search within oneself, seeking out even the scary parts, to find who they are and what they are meant to do, and will learn how to live in true harmony with these findings, improving both themselves and the community in which they live. 

If you’re stressed, if you’re unsure of what you’re meant to do or be, or if you just want to have a place where thinking about these big life questions is encouraged, I recommend taking this course. For me, taking Second Seminar helped me find who I was truly meant to be. 

Course Information:

IDS 295 Second Seminar; Designing A Life That Matters
Spring CRN 11919
2CR, TH 1:30pm-2:50pm
Instructor: Shannon Schans
GLD Flagged Course 

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