This is my first entry! I hope to fill this blog with stories and pictures from my classes, clubs, and activities around Clark. I will be focusing on Psychology and Jewish studies, as these are the studies that I am pursuing.
To start off, I will explain how I became a Psychology major with a concentration in Jewish studies, and how I ended up at Clark University.
When I was younger, I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Rather, I was quite the opposite in the way that I knew exactly what I didn't want to be; artists are starving, celebrities are always in the spotlight, chefs are temperamental, and I was never very good at styling people's hair.
Throughout high school I attempted to piece together who I wanted to be, but could never quite grasp at my essence. I enjoyed writing quite a bit, but only creatively and as a form of expression or communication. I liked books as well, and movies, but hardly saw myself working retail. Piano has always been fun, and drawing was something that I did frequently but without purposeful intentions. It was at the end of high school that I was forced to examine the differences between hobbies and potential careers; where does one draw the line?
I examined common themes associated with my personality. I was somewhat artsy, somewhat opposed to science and math, and incredibly unsure of who I wanted to be. It seemed clear at this point that a liberal arts school would be an appropriate choice.
Clark University had many excellent features; proximity-wise to home it was very favorable, it allowed for the first two years to be spent discovering potential career paths (for those who were still very unsure of what to do), and it was located near the university of my at-the-time boyfriend.
Of course, my reasons now for loving Clark are a bit different. I admire that it seems to attract such wonderful and interesting people (seriously, I have met most of my favorite people here at Clark), that as a whole we all strive to change the world through individual and group efforts, and that people are encouraged to be themselves, with little torment, and with lots of support from their peers. Clark has truly been the place where I felt comfortable to seek myself out, and to become the person that I want to be. Where else could I walk around in a full-on robot costume, and only receive compliments or smiles or giggles? (For those who are curious, it was a costume that I was wearing for a student film linked here).
So after years of uncertainty as to who I would become, I finally discovered my potential at Clark. I love people, and I find them intriguing. So I took courses in psychology, sociology, peace studies, women studies; anything about people (and lacking in science or math) and I was signed up. I decided to delve more into the religion that I had grown up with, and found the Jewish Studies program at Clark particularly favorable. I enjoyed greatly all of my social science studies, but decided that my interest peaked with psychology and dripped back down into the umbrella group of everything else relating to people.
And so, this is how I became a Psychology major at Clark University. I came to college unsure of who I wanted to be. I took courses and tried too many clubs and made a few new friends. And I came out of the mix with a more assured and confident self, a bigger smile, and excitement for the future.
