Indecisiveness leads to greatness! by Jessica

Indecisiveness leads to greatness! by Jessica - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

My first quarter of college was just completely overwhelming. I failed my first course, I was still undecided on a major, and I had my first breakup. Since I failed my first course, I was on academic probation for two quarters. I did not get out of it until spring quarter this school year. During my winter quarter, which was my second quarter of college, I was taking a life span psychology course. My professor's was a man in his late fifties named Charles Wright. I was really interested in the class and I found professor Wright really passionate about developmental psychology. I also found it interesting that he encouraged students to have coffee with him after each lecture. After several weeks of debating if I should have coffee with Wright, I took my chance.

I wanted to "put myself out there" by actually getting to know a professor, but most importantly I needed advice on a major I wanted to study. It would also be better in the long run if I ever needed a letter of recommendation. I was biology major, but I wasn't really interested in the subject. The truth was that I always had a passion for psychology since middle school. During our conversation, I remember asking professor Wright if he always wanted to be a psychology major when he was in college. He told me that psychology was not even on his mind until his senior year of college! I was in shock because I thought it would have been too late for him to actually pursue a career in psychology, but he proved wrong. He proved to me that it was never “too late.” Wright mentioned that he was studying molecular biology during his first years of college, but also applying to law school because "all of his family was lawyers." He also mentioned that he was good at computing and programming. I told professor that I was really interested in learning about an individual’s mood, behavior, and disorders. He told me I should consider majoring in “Psychology and Social Behavior.” At UC Irvine there is two different fields of psychology. The first one is psychology, which falls under the department of social sciences because it is a cognitive science. Cognitive sciences focus more studying the biology of the brain. Psychology and social behavior falls under the department of social ecology. Social ecology focuses on how different organisms interact psychologically with the environment.

I also admitted to my professor that I was worried about never finding my way or changing my major again. He consoled me and said, “Do not worry about that, you’ll end up being where you need to be one day.” He was speaking from his experiences, which definitely changed my perspective on choosing a major. I realized that is perfectly normal if I am currently indecisive about what I want to study or pursue my career in. With time, I will find the right path and pursue a career I am passionate about. It takes time, but I know I have to be patient. If I make mistakes or fail, I have to learn from it because it is a lesson learned, not a punishment. I also need to be positive and not be so hard on myself.

It has been one crazy first year of college, but I am excited to see what my next quarter has. I am looking forward to those psychology classes. I am grateful for all of the wonderful talks I had with Dr. Wright during winter quarter. I am overjoyed that I took the chance and talked to him about my “major” problems. I cannot wait to see what the next three years at UC Irvine have in store for me as a psychology and social behavior major!