You go home for Christmas break and your uncle, that you only see for holidays, birthdays, and family reunions, politely asks if you are enjoying college. He proceeds to inquire about your major, “So what exactly are you going for again?” You hold your breath because you know the exact reaction you’ll receive. “Psychology,” you respond, with a slight nodding of the head and a smile. “Oh, that’s good,” he replies insincerely. This, however, does not surprise you, because you’re well aware that this is how most people react when given your response (Education majors, where you at? I know you guys can relate). Why is it that we have to be in pre-med, law, or engineering to receive a little praise, rather than a snicker? Don’t get me wrong I, for one, am not expecting praise for merely receiving an education. However, I’d like to assume that others would at least be respectful of my career decisions as opposed to looking down on them. Since when does money come before happiness? Before you make your comment about how I won’t be able to do anything with a psychology degree, let me tell you a little bit about why I am working towards one.
The opportunities are endless. A bachelor’s degree in Psychology can present an entire realm of careers. You can go into Human Resources. There is a Human Resources department involved with almost every company, and if you’re interested in this field, the likelihood of finding a career is positive. Another field of careers you’d likely be qualified for are casework and counseling. Many of these careers are available through the nonprofit sector which can include crisis centers, substance abuse casework, etc. A career in research can be another option with a bachelor’s in psychology. You can work in a lab as an associate or assistant. The list is far too long to include every career, but keep in mind that obtaining a master’s degree can greatly widen the spectrum of career opportunities, as well as obtaining a doctorate. These can also increase your salary (Take that uncle *insert uncle’s name*!).
Life lessons can be learned in class. Although this is not a proven statement, I think that it is difficult to say the same for many other majors. Psychology dives into topics that relate to real life, relationships, and cognition. I think that it would be ignorant to state that other majors do not touch on real-life situations, however, I believe that psychology is one of the only majors that is literally about life – what we think, what we feel, and why. I also think that it is beneficial to learn about these things. When we genuinely understand why a person shows an emotion or reacts a certain way it can help us in our personal lives. We can obtain empathy and understanding. Psychology also provides us with the tools to understand how others will likely react to our actions. In my opinion, psychology teaches us to be better people and better human beings.
Above all else, I think that the main reason that I want to obtain a degree in psychology is to be able to provide people with the tools necessary to get out of dark places and bad situations. Not many things are more beautiful (to me at least) than raw human emotion. When someone confides in me whole-heartedly and unapologetically, I am my happiest. It makes me happy to know that that person has placed their trust in me and I now have the opportunity to help them to the best of my ability. I think that when people are vulnerable and open up about things they normally wouldn’t, without worrying about judgment or condemnation, it is a sacred thing. I think that we put up these walls because we’re too busy worrying about what people will think of us or how they will perceive us. It’s difficult to blame us for that mindset when society teaches us that we should bottle up how we really feel and put on happy faces as we stunt our name brand clothing, expensive vehicles, and homes. We prioritize materialistic things over each other and that is incredibly saddening. As cliché as it may be, you can’t take it to the grave and that’s why we should place a higher importance on each other. We need to start living life as one loving race and really enjoying each other and producing good together, rather than breaking each other down. It’s in our DNA. Human beings have had to rely on each other since the Middle Paleolithic age, and without each other, we would be nothing. I hope that through my psychology career, whatever it is that I choose to do, I can help to bring that mindset to light and help others to enforce it, as well as myself. You don’t need a degree to love, but I will continue to hope that I can spread it through what I do for the rest of my life. So yeah, uncle, I may not make the most money or have the nicest things, but I sure as hell am going to love what I do and bring good to this world through it.
