When I went to college in fall of 2014, I was dead-set on being an english major for secondary education. That was what I had loved my whole life, and I was going to live my dream. I laughed at people who tried to convince me I would change my major; I called them ridiculous because I knew myself, and I knew that I was destined to be an english teacher.

Yeah, I was wrong.

During my second semester of college, my class of Jane Austen and the Brontes filled up, and I was forced to take an honors introduction to family studies course instead. This class, this professor, changed my life. A few months later, I found myself filling out a form to switch my major, and I haven’t looked back since. Family Studies isn’t a huge field, but it is a great one, and here are some things that I’ve learned being a part of this major.

1.No one knows what this isI don’t think I have ever met a person who, when I tell them I’m majoring in family studies, doesn’t ask me what the heck I’m talking about. It’s real; I swear!

2. It is a beautiful combination of psychology and sociology

Seriously, it’s the best of both worlds. You can Google it. We take classes in both psych and soc, we combine them, we learn them, we live them. I don’t know how college courses could get more fun than this.

3. You realize it sounds fake but can quickly convince people there are jobs for this

I get it, fam; “family studies” seems like some tacky lie. But, it’s not. People can get apprehensive when you tell them you’re paying to “study families”, but they always look relieved when you add on the fact that you could go into family law (even if you aren’t planning on it, that is a good tip to get them off your case).

4. It’s basically majoring in “how to be good at life”

It really is. You get to understand groups, you get to understand individuals, you get to understand individuals in groups… You get to see what statistically works and doesn’t work in raising children and being married and just life in general. It really is like a cheat sheet for life. Whoever said life didn’t come with a “how-to manual” CLEARLY wasn’t a FMST major.

5. You have the best professors

For real, they are all either ex therapists or just so well adjusted to their psychology/sociology/family studies field that they have no other intention than to make sure you succeed and do a good job. I have loved every single one of my professors in this major. They just…understand.

6. You think you’ve won the lotto when you meet another FMST major

They do exist

7. You can never stop analyzing your surroundings

I used to be able to go out into public and be normal; now, I just people watch and try to understand people’s situations. Seriously, this field affects everyone.

8. You have lost your ability to be mad because you understand why things happen

Between the psychology and sociology, you’ve learned enough to get why people do the things that they do; therefore, it’s kind of hard to stay mad at them.

9. You actually want to do your homework

Everything about this major is fascinating, and learning things about it doesn’t seem like real work. It’s very easy to become a Family Studies “nerd”, but it’s very hard to be apologetic about it!