Going into college, picking a major is one of the hardest choices a college kid makes. For me it was one of the easiest choices. I knew what major I wanted when I was in the 11th grade after finding a psychology book in a book swap bin.
So here are I've reasons why choosing psychology was my best life choice and could be yours:
1. I've learned a lot about people
Being a psychology major allows you to learn about the human mind. I especially like behaviorism. Studying body language can get you everywhere. Knowing how to read body language when someone doesn't want to talk about something, when someone is uncomfortable or when someone is totally open to conversation is incredibly useful. You can also learn a lot about getting your way, fun fact.
2. You learn a lot about yourself
Reading tons of psychology will cause you to get what's called "psychology student syndrome." Basically, you're going to start diagnosing everyone, including yourself, with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc. But, somewhere in all of that, you're going to learn about yourself. Say you have an anxiety disorder; you could learn methods of managing that anxiety with breathing exercises, counting down and yoga.
3. You can apply it to a lot of things
I currently use some of the psychology I've learned, particularly classical conditioning, to train dogs for the rescue I work for. It works. Classical conditioning is absolutely the most effective way to train an animal. You can also use classical conditioning to train children. As bad as that sounds, it can be incredibly helpful. Would you rather have a screaming child in Walmart or a well-behaved, mild-mannered child?
4. You can find jobs you never would've thought of
Did you know that the way your grocery store is set up is determined by a psychologist in order to move product? Did you know that some marketing is done by psychologists to sell things? Did you know that package design is determined by psychologists? There are so many jobs out there that you wouldn't think psychologists do! I, for example, am going into art therapy. This means I will get to work with kids using art as a method of therapy.
5. You get to take fun and interesting classes
At my university, we have classes like The Psychology of Batman, Psych of the Living Dead, Intro to Psych of Film and Love and Sexual Behavior. Though these classes don't sound like real classes, they absolutely are. We use methods like Batman comics in order to separate ourselves and understand some really harsh situations. We present at conferences and conventions talking about our projects. It's amazing.
