I came into college with a plan. I would major in Psychology and graduate. Go on to graduate school and then continue on to become a therapist. My dad had told me in middle school that I would be a good therapist one day because I was a people person. He told me that if he could go back and do it over that he would be a therapist. From that day forward I was set on becoming a therapist. I never had any doubts about it.
In high school, I took a psychology class that affirmed my interest in the subject. It was not until I took Intro to Psychology during my first semester at college that I began to realize maybe the field wasn’t for me.
I found the textbook outdated and the lectures dry. The survey nature of this introductory course led me to learn only parts of the puzzle that is psychology. Each day seemed to cover a completely different subject and there was no depth only breadth.
I left that semester discouraged and uninspired by psychology. The subject I had always thought would direct my career path left me lost and without direction. I became entirely overwhelmed trying to find a major that could give me some sort of direction that I so deeply desired.
I landed on arguably the broadest and abstract major that exists. Pitzer College, the school I attend, is one of the few institutions in the nation that offers the major. I was drawn to the field because Organizational Studies uses applied psychology inside the workplace. Looking back it was silly that I let the introductory psychology course determine the direction of my college career.
As an Organizational Studies major I’ve acquired skills that will likely look appealing to prospective employers but along the way I lost myself. If I could go back I would major in psychology. It might be among the most popular major for college students but I believe this is the case for good reason. Humans yearn to understand each other; it is simply part of human nature. We are a species that is rooted in curiosity and interconnectedness.
As much as I may be interested in workplace dynamics my true passion is the study of human behavior and relationships. By this point, I’m nearly done with a major in Organizational Studies and will soon be going off to study for a year abroad. I hope my year abroad will enable me to deepen my appreciation of others by forming new bonds.
Though I also share similar regret as my father about not following my passion, I have come to realize that my major in college need not set the trajectory for the rest of my life. Though I may feel like I am running out of time, I have the rest of my life to learn and my major in college only accounts for one of the many directions my life could take.
