Before I came to college, people would ask me “What are you planning to study at Saint Mike’s?” To which I would respond “Psychology.” About 50% of the time, people would give me a sympathetic look and say “Oh, so you aren’t going to school to make the big bucks then?”
Nearly everyday, I come home and tell my roommates something interesting I’ve learned in my classes. I’m a Psychology major and a Global Studies and English Literature minor, so the classes I take are quite different from one another. The courses I take for my major and the material I learn is some of the most fascinating and eye opening information I’ve come across in my academic career thus far.
The reason I love Psychology so much is because of how applicable it will be for my career, but also because it helps me better understand my own behavior and the people’s around me. Everyday, you are faced with social interactions and Psychology gives you the tools and the perspective to have meaningful conversation, to be less judgemental towards people, and to be intuitive towards others needs as well as your own. It is through my courses that I build upon the already innate qualities I have and to expand my mind in ways I would have never even thought of.
For example, I’m taking a class this semester called “The Thinking Child” and I’m learning why children act the way they do and how they process information from infancy through adolescence. I can relate to the information I’m learning because I was a child once too with these same perspectives and understandings of the world and it makes the information that much more interesting. Or like last semester, I took a course called “Drugs and Behavior” where I learned the impacts certain drugs have on the body physically as well as mentally. The course opened my mind to the dangers, but also some very positive effects that certain drugs and certain doses can provide. It is through the courses I take for my major that excite me for higher education and eventually my career.
I think back to the conversations I had before I came to college where people would question and pity me for my career path. I wouldn’t even consider changing my decision to become a Psych major because of how much joy my classes bring me and all the hard work, but self-gratifying work I have ahead of me in my career.
So here’s to the people who condemn “soft sciences” and their lack of superfluous income, while I enjoy the time I have left in higher education and while I enjoy going to work everyday in the future, I’ll be mentally thanking you for ever questioning my personal decision of going to college as a Psychology major.
Sources:
1.) http://cnu.edu/academics/departments/psychology/