Suppose you’re a college freshman deciding whether to
major in math or economics. Well, math will give you more
options: you can go into almost any field from math. If
you major in math it will be easy to get into grad school
in economics, but if you major in economics it will be
hard to get into grad school in math.
Flying a glider is a good metaphor here. Because a glider
doesn’t have an engine, you can’t fly into the wind
without losing a lot of altitude. If you let yourself get
far downwind of good places to land, your options narrow
uncomfortably. As a rule you want to stay upwind. So I
propose that as a replacement for “don’t give up on your
dreams.” Stay upwind.
“What You’ll Wish You’d Known” (advice to high schoolers):