Autism

I became extremely interested with Autism after meeting an autistic child a few months ago. For those of you who do not know what Autism is, its a disorder that often develops in the first three years and affects the development of the brain and one's social and communication skills. Meaning that autistic children often have a hard time making and keeping friends, do not participate in interactive games or playing "pretend", and cannot communicate with words effectively. Currently there is no cure for Autism, but scientists are working to improve treatment remedies and looking for a cure. I know that this may be a little "out there", but someday I would love to contribute to the finding of a cure for Autism. People tend to ignore Autistic children or label them as "weird" or worse names, but really they are extremely talented and are often misunderstood because of the way they communicate. After meeting a child with Autism, it has opened my eyes to the struggles they face everyday and that they will never be able to experience a "normal" childhood and also that they definitely don't deserve to be treated in the awful ways that they are by other children and even adults.

Inspired!

Last week I went on the Southern California College trip with my school to tour 6 colleges. I've had my heart set on going to University of San Diego for a long time, but I think that University of LA has become my new number 1! I fell in love with the school right when we arrived. The schoo has an amazing Psyche program which is exactly what I want. Another school we toured with a good psychology program is University of Santa Barbara. Another school I fell in love with. The trip as a whole made me realize how much work I still have to do in order to be accepted into one of those schools but it also inspired me to continue to work hard in academics and extracirriculars so that one day I can continue my education at the college I want.

Maybe Medical?

For about a year or so I have really wanted to become a psychologist and I still do. However, I've been thinking a lot lately about also maybe trying to pursue a career in the medical field. I know for sure that whatever I do after high school and college I want to help people. But since it is already the second semester of my junior year, college is approaching fast and I have to decide pretty soon about what I want to major in and where I want to apply to college. At first I was thinking about majoring in psychological development, health, and human behaviors all of which would help my chances of being a psychologist. But now with my growing interest in the medical field, I've decided that I would like to major in Health and Administrative Services. This major would benefit me both as a psychologist or a doctor or nurse.