I selected psychology as one of my majors (with biology being the other one) because it is something that has interested me from a young age. My stepfather is a psychology major, and now works for the Transportation Security Administration. Growing up, I would often hear his two cents on certain matters–his thoughts on certain people, why they do what they do, what they are most likely going to do next, and so on. I often heard stories about how much he enjoyed his psychology classes in college, which helped to strongly influence my decision in choosing psychology.
Growing up, I’ve also been really involved in psychological thriller movies, such as mysteries. Today, Silence of the Lambs is one of my favorite movies. I really enjoy trying to figure out what motivates characters, and why they are the way they are. Not only does this apply to characters in movies, but also to real life. As I have begun to study psychology, I have noticed that I’ve been trying to look deeper into people’s personalities as well.
Taking psychology in high school also has really influenced my decision in choosing psychology as a major. Despite the fact that my teacher was not the best, I found that I really enjoyed the course material, and came to class eager to learn it; it was one of my better school subjects! Coming into college, I was not overly certain with what I wanted to major in. As I put more thought into it, however, it just seemed natural that I should major in two of the things that most interested me in high school–psychology and biology. (Art and English were my two favorite classes, but I’ve been told by numerous people that those are useless degrees that do not make much money, unfortunately). Nothing much else interested me degree-wise.
One of the other things that really made me consider psychology here at Truman was the coursework. All of the requirements in order to get my degree seemed like things that would actually be interesting. There are no calculus or organic chemistry classes required,classes that would generally be unbearable for me to sit through. Almost every class required is psychology, and that was really appealing to me.
With my psychology major, I plan to find a job that not only pays well, but is also a fun experience for me. I want something that I will not only look forward to going to everyday, but also something that will be able to support my future family. While this task will undoubtedly be hard to follow and require many years of schooling, it is a task that I am passionate about; it is something that must be done in order for me to follow my dream.
Originally, I had considered going into psychiatry, but the more I researched it, the more I began to think if I really had what it takes for medical school. Psychiatry is still an option for me, but it will probably just require a lot more looking into. Just a general job in therapy or counseling would be good for me, too, and not require nearly as much medical school! Preferably, I would like to do something that does not involve just straight research and experimentation, as I do not think something like that would keep me interested for long. Right now, I am really looking into child psychology, as I absolutely love working with kids. My dream job with a psychology major would be art therapy. It combines two passions of mine: art and psychology, One of my friends, a hopeful music therapist, recommended it to me, saying that it would be something I’d be good at.
My main goal career-wise is just to be able to help others. As long as I am able to do this, I would be happy doing almost anything. I want to be able to improve people’s lives using psychology, and maybe even a bit of biology!
