The moment I declared to be a psychology major was one of the greatest days of my life. I get to study the personality and the human mind and dive into the theories of Sigmund Freud, Karl Jung, Albert Bandura, B.F. Skinner, and many other theorists along the way. As a psychology major, I was warned in the beginning that it will not be an easy road ahead of us, that there will be a lot of reading and a lot of soul searching that I would want to do along the way as well. It is a major that gets people to turn their heads or stare at me in confusion and sometimes, I have to try and find an ounce of patience for those who decide to ask a thousand questions as they try to educate or try to debunk some common myths. There is only one problem: not everyone tries to do it in a way where I feel comfortable responding. Sometimes responding can be incredibly awkward or frustrating, but I know it that at the end of the day I have the power to debunk the myths and to inform people that psychology is not a subject that should be joked around with. So to fellow psychology majors, whether you're going into the field, double majoring, or are planning to use the discipline to use this to understand the world, etc., this is for you all.

1. "Psychology! That's where you guys study gravity and moving things, right?"

Sorry, I think you may have confused this major as physics. I don't study that, sorry.

2. "Oh, you can read minds! What am I thinking right now?"

I'm not psychic, but I do have a list of psychics I can refer you to.

3. "You know you're not going to make a lot of money off that, right?"

Says who? Have you googled to see how much psychologists make per year depending on their field of study? Have you done extensive amounts of research of the discipline? I didn't

think so.

4. "Is it true that psychologists develop mental illnesses from their patients?"

Think about this question long and hard and then ask a doctor how many times they have contracted a non-infectious disease from their patients.

5. "Oh, I can't wait for you to analyze me and the family!"

Most likely, I will end up charging you double because my field of study is geared more towards young children and not adults, but sure. Go right ahead.

6. "Vaccines totally cause Autism, right?"

"Correlation does not equal causation", in the words of every psychology and stats professors that have taught m in the past. According to CDC.gov and AutismCenter.org, the signs of Autism tend to appear

in early childhood, which is coincidentally right around when a child is getting their vaccinations before entering school. Just do further research and ask your pediatrician for further advice.

7. "Why psychology? You're such a smart girl, you can do so much more than that!"

That's why I'm double majoring. Doesn't hurt to be ambitious, right?

8. "You do realize you're going to be in school until you're in your 30s right? That's a long time for school.

Good thing I love learning!

9. "Don't shrinks need their own shrinks?"

Yes, we do. Whether it's because we need to take some stress off our own shoulders or because we need to consult with other psychologists, it's a healthy thing to do. In fact, it's good to have someone to talk to. There's no shame in that at all.

10. "It's not even a real science."

If psychology didn't exist, we would not be able to understand ourselves or other people. Every science has helped us open doors into what the universe around us is about. So by studying the human mind, we get to educate ourselves on our own personality, on mental disorders and being proactive on how to successfully combat mental illness.