Once the difficult decision of choosing a college has been made, the next step is choosing a major. Throughout our time as high schoolers, we change our minds multiple times about what direction we want to go in life. Some are eventually inspired by people or public figures, but others find the call through television series and movies.

Tori Foushee, inspired by The Carrie Diaries, will pursue a career in fashion journalism at Mizzou later this fall. The Carrie Diaries is set in the year 1984 and follows Carrie Bradshaw in her internship with a Manhattan law firm. After meeting a style editor for a magazine, Carrie found a true love for fashion.

“Carrie is just so passionate about fashion and I feel that I am too, so whenever I watch the show I feel like I can relate to her,” said Foushee.

Headed to Portland, Oregon this year, Liz Langdon was inspired to become a nurse by the comedy show Scrubs. Following several doctors and nurses throughout their course of learning, Scrubs is very similar to Grey’s Anatomy, albeit taking a lighter spin on things.

“Growing up, I always wanted to be nurse because of how cool Carla was on the show. The show gave me a perspective of the medical field that no other show has portrayed. When it came to actually buckling down and choosing a major, my decision was still the same because of Scrubs,” said Langdon.

Also headed to Mizzou next year, Sean Dolan seeks to pursue a degree in English education for the high school level. A classic movie, Dead Poets Society inspired Dolan to be the best teacher he could be. Going beyond the literature in the class, a teacher at a college preparatory school for boys allows his class to have fun while learning important life lessons.

“If more teachers had the passion and curiosity that Mr. Keating had, the world could be a lot better place. I want to match that. They [the students] love Mr. Keating because he wasn’t a typical teacher. I want my students to react the way they did,” said Dolan.

Going south next semester to Southeast Missouri State, Cristiana Cottone attributes Good Will Hunting for choosing her career path. Anyone aspiring to a career in psychology has most likely heard of this movie, which follows a genius janitor who is arrested and thrown into the psychological care of Sean Maguire, played by Robin Williams.

“This movie has always been one of my favorites, especially since I saw it at a young age because my dad has a PhD in psychology. It was one of the first signs I knew I wanted to help people, and I feel like I can achieve that through becoming a psychologist,” said Cottone.

Eddie Koch, who will be attending Missouri S&T in Rolla, gives his credits to The Matrix for the assistance in choosing his career path. The Matrix follows the story of a young computer hacker fighting in a war against the earth now ruled by computers.

“Matrix allowed me to see just what the coding of computers was and see that it was something that I really wanted to do for the rest of my life,” said Koch.

The arts have a true impact on the lives of thousands, and these five seniors are just a few of those. Whether driven by the paycheck of the career they’ll pursue, an influential person in their life or a form of entertainment, all the best wishes go out to the class of 2016 on finding a path in life that they have a passion for!