I remember the moment I fell in love with reading books. I was in middle school and my father decided to randomly order me a mystery book series from the Scholastic catalog. I insisted that it would be a waste of money and that I wouldn't even touch the books. When the books arrived, however, I picked one up and by the end of the week I had finished the whole series. That moment would kick off a life-long love for reading.
This love of reading benefited me in many ways. I obtained a large vocabulary, I had an above average reading level, I was able to draw elements from my reading into my writing, I became more aware of my surroundings, and overall it led me to excel in the subjects of English language arts.
Up until college, I went to schools that had low budgets, air conditioning was never equipped in the 100-year-old buildings, the teachers upheld traditional and stifling standards in the classroom, and extracurricular activities, if there even were any, were scarce. There was barely money to repair the bathrooms, so there was definitely not money for new books and consistent science classes and curriculums.
l didn't have a science lesson until the 4th grade, I didn't see the inside of a science "lab" until the 8th grade. The school library, however, was a place that as a middle grader I was required to go to once a week and check out a book.
When I arrived at high school I took real science classes. I learned about the makeup of our bodies and of our physical world, and it felt like an unveiling of a curtain. My understanding of the world shifted and that's when I fell in love with science. However, just because I became infatuated with science does not mean I stopped loving English and writing, nor does it mean that I immediately became an expert in all things science.
Like every other student who is introduced to new concepts, I had to work hard to study and learn this new material. Meanwhile, English class was like visiting an old friend, I've been learning it and practicing it my whole life, therefore I was naturally good at the subject.
All my life I've been curious about other topics, and I still am. I am simultaneously intrigued by English and science, psychology, religion, philosophy, public health, politics, and of course, education. I would like to learn about all of them, but I can only major and minor in one subject in college, and at present, I can only carve out one career path for myself. I can only hope to learn more along the way.
My high school English teachers noticed my excitement in English class and how I loved to read stories, so they urged me to take on a liberal arts path. When I told them my plans of going into science and health care, they gave me a look that said, "We both know you're going to end up with a liberal arts degree."
Why can't I be both!? All my life the world has told me what to do, that I only have one path according to my major in college, but this does not have to be the case! Someone can both be an author and a physician, a lawyer and an epidemiologist, a paralegal and a math professor. Paul Kalanithi, known for writing his memoir "When Breath Becomes Air." had a BA and MA in English Literature, a BA in Human Biology, an M.Phil from Cambridge, and went onto become a prominent neurosurgeon and now, posthumously, has made his mark on the world through his writing.
So, from now on, I am going to do what I want, not what other people think I should be doing. I am going to successfully get my undergraduate degree, go onto graduate school and eventually enter the workforce. Along the way, I might pick up some other skills, like teaching or learning a new language, and maybe one day I'll write a book, maybe I'll be a professor, maybe I'll be a yoga instructor, maybe I'll be a tour guide in Europe. The future holds a lot of possibilities for me and I plan to take advantage of every moment of this life I was given doing what I love, which is discovering what I love.
