Dear Darling,
I’m heading off to college in the fall, and am not sure what I want to major in. I have high test scores and am interested in something Science/mental-health related. I also really love theatre, but don’t want a degree for it. All I want to do is help people; to make them feel better and get them what they need. Psychology maybe? What do you think? I’m just sort of scared of all the work I’d need to do, but changing someone’s life would be worth it. Right?
Sincerely,
Elyse Meyers
HI ELYSE, you’ve done the right thing turning to me for advice on this matter…this decision can AND WILL affect the rest of your life, and I can’t think of anyone more qualified to answer than fdskjlfadsf …sorry, I choked on a go-gurt and my hands sort of freaked out.
Now, as an advice columnist I’m basically a psychiatrist already…a doctor of the mind…a surgeon of the soul and a dentist of the heart removing cavities of pain and replacing them with fillers of joy. (Sorry, I went to the dentist today. I got dinosaur stickers for being such a good flosser!)
But enough about me and more about the brilliant advice I can give you. Look, I’m not big on hard work, BUT I am big on being HAPPY! It sounds to me like you know what makes you happy… and that’s helping people… and if a little hard work now will lead to a job that makes you happy for the rest of your life…
Till next time Darlingites!
Michael
Dear Elyse,
An addition to Michael’s great advice (Floss! Very important):
Your major is not the defining point of your career. Very few people know exactly what they want to do at 18 or 20, and as you live and experience things, what you want to do will come into sharper focus. (I know several would-be doctors who reached medical school before realizing they didn’t want to be around blood all the time. So they switched to health policy or pharmaceuticals or biotech. One became a stand-up comic :).)
It sounds like you have a great general idea of what you want to try, “try” being the key word. My advice would be to take classes in biology, psychology, etc., and pay close attention to what you like and don’t. Adjust your course schedule as you go. And if you love it, absolutely take a theatre class or two. In addition to being fun, theatre and art have well-established places in the “helping professions” – you may find a way to combine the two.
Good luck!
A. Frohman