Dreams

I've been thinking about psychology a lot recently. I don't really know why...it couldn't possibly be because that's what I'm majoring in and I had to fight to get put into my developmental psych class instead of lame psych 101. But, really. I'm getting really excited for school to start. Part of that is because of my psych class. the other part is getting to do choir again.

Anyways. Psychology. One of the standard questions for people to ask you up here, if they don't know you and find out you're going to college: "What's your major?" The next question: "What do you want to do with that?" Every time I answer that question, the desire to actually do it is renewed in me. It strengthens my resolve to do it. I decided  that it's something I want to try to do even when/if I have a family of my own.

So what do I want to do with my psych major? I want to go through LDS church services, and become a psychologist/therapist/counselor/whatever-you-want-to-call-it for children and teens. Every time I've told someone who actually has experience or has dealt with psychologists in church services, they seem to think it's the best idea ever.

This is just something I feel so strongly about. For a little while, I was concerned that the only reason why I chose psych was because that's what my sister Amy is doing. Ever since I was little, I had this tendency to like whatever she liked/try to do what she did. (Except I played sports (sorta) and she didn't. And she did violin while I played the drums/percussion.) So I was worried that maybe my motives weren't what I thought they were. But then I thought back  on the day I made the decision to change my major. It was really random. I had this idea in my head of what my life was going to be. I was going to major in music education. After I finished my first four years of college, I was going to get married - if that for some reason didn't happen, then I would become a music teacher. (I still hadn't decided on choir or band yet.) If I did get married, I would become a private music teacher, so I could make some money on the side of whatever my husband was making. It seemed like the perfect plan to me. But, then, I started talking to my sister, Christina. In this conversation, I started thinking/talking about how I wanted to help people - my ultimate goal in life is to make a difference in the world. And I started thinking about some of the things I've gone through. Not exactly big things, but maybe some things that could have effect me worse. And the only reason why they didn't effect me worse was because of the Gospel in my life and how it has taught me to have a good relationship with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It has taught me to cope and to be happy, even in the midst of trials. Then I had the realization: The Gospel is the best therapy there is. And there it was. I suddenly had the desire to use my knowledge of the Gospel to help other people get though their own trials and be happy. Church services plus a knowledge of psychology could help make this possible. So, that's been my plan for about one and a half years, maybe two.

Will this change? Maybe. Plans change. But the best way to change you plans is while your chasing your dreams. Because you never know if that dream is right for you, unless you go after it. And sometimes those dreams change...but that's ok. My dreams right now include getting married (eventually), getting enough schooling done to become a psychologist, being a good mom, making people happy, and, of course, making a difference in the world. Everything I do right now is in attempts to achieve those dreams.

What are your dreams? What's important to you? What will you do to chase your dreams?

I'm going to leave you with this picture:

There is no purpose for this picture. I just felt like showing it. The end.