Determining a career path is one of the many daunting tasks a college student faces in this day and age. Immediately upon arrival, you are asked to select a major and the following question will be what career you will pursue. When I decided to change my major to psychology, I was met with a broad amount of options that I could choose.
A common misconception with being a psych major is that we all automatically want to become psychologists. While this is true for some, others like myself have a different idea about what we want to do with it. I knew that I wanted to be involved with children, as my minor is childhood studies. What I was so happy to find is that there are a variety of options within child psychology careers. One that I immediately knew I was interested in was the child life specialty. When I was going through my treatment, I had two child life specialists who made things less scary and allowed me to ask questions about certain procedures that I was going to be getting. One day while I was getting chemotherapy, I was able to make a paper mache vase with my child life specialist, Megan, and that made all the difference for me. I still have it to this day. I was able to focus on being a kid and relax through art, rather than the hospital room around me.
I know that this will not be an easy task some days. Not all kids are going to get better and there are going to be times when it feels emotionally unbearable. But, I do not let those thoughts crowd the immense benefits that come with this job. You are able to form such deep bonds with patients and bring smiles to their faces. I want to use what I learn as a psychology major and apply it in an entirely new setting. When I decided what I wanted to do, nothing could stop me. I will continuously work towards my goal through graduation and internships. I hope you will do the same. I will always remember what my mom told me the minute I finished my treatment -- to hit the ground running and never look back. Always pursue your dreams and what feels right.
