At least once when you were really young, you would be asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" At the time you could answer anything your little heart desired because that was a time of innocence when you didn't know how hard it actually is to become a doctor or a veterinarian (that's one that I would always say). Fast forward to high school and you're asked the same question, but this time you have to be serious. What do you seriously see yourself doing in the years to come? I for sure thought I had my answer, but I was starting to doubt myself.
One of the only subjects I had strength in was English because I considered myself a pretty good writer and reader, so throughout high school, I took honors and AP English courses. I was pretty convinced that once I got to college, my major would have something to do with English because of my love for writing and reading. This all changed after the first week of my AP English class during junior year: I absolutely loathed it. For the first time, I was analyzing boring non-fiction pieces and learning about all the different terms that have to do with rhetoric. All of these added up into an epiphany that made me realize that writing analytical papers and pretending I know what I'm talking is not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I know I could have decided to be more of like a creative writing or a literature major, but my heart just wasn't in it anymore. Now, I had to figure out what might actually interest me and possibly be my career.
That same year, I was also enrolled in an AP Psychology class. I only took it because I heard it was an extremely easy AP class, and it would look good if I was in two AP classes in one year. Although I was scheduled for this class the last period of the day and sometimes it could be boring, I started to love the content of the class, and no school subject has piqued my interest like that in years.
By the end of the year, I was starting to go on college visits and I would go and say my potential major was going to be English, but it just didn't feel right. I always had the thought of being a psychology major in the back of my mind, but I was too scared to admit it. When I finally told my parents that I wanted my major to be psychology, I got mixed reactions at first. Basically, it was just the question, "Are you sure?" They knew that it could potentially be very hard, and I would have to get a Masters Degree. I knew I was 100% positive that this was what I wanted. I was ready to be in school for another six years, and I know it's all going to be worth it because I chose a major that I love. There is definitely a lot of weight on my shoulders because I am going to be the first in my family to go to college for six years, but my family believes in me and more importantly, I believe in myself. I know it isn't always going to be easy and that this is just the beginning, but when I am helping people every day for my career, I know it will all be worth it.
