Why I chose to major in Psychology by Khalisah

Why I chose to major in Psychology by Khalisah - April 2025 Scholarship Essay

Everyone is a product of their environment. Whether they had a relatively relaxed upbringing or a strenuous one, their personality and decisions in life always showcase how they were raised. I started to fully realize this after one day in my Child Psychology class. The particular lesson this day was the four main parenting styles: Authoritarian, Permissive, Authoritative, and Uninvolved. As my teacher went into depth with each, I realized the vast differences between the way I am raised and the way other children are raised. It felt as if my eyes had been opened to a new world of understanding. One of these parenting styles that stuck out to me like a sore thumb was the Authoritarian parenting style. This describes a parent that is rigid, punitive, and demands unquestioning obedience from their children. The results of this parenting tend to produce children who are unsociable, unfriendly and withdrawn. Hearing this, I thought back to one of my classmates that tended to be more outcasted and alone, not aware of some social cues. She also had a bad habit of exposing her traumatic home life to the first person who engaged in conversation with her, causing many uncomfortable conversations. This behavior was frequent, and even I can admit that I was annoyed by it most of the time. However, after listening to this lesson, a part of me was no longer as annoyed and instead made an attempt to understand her. I realized that the reason she always shared her business with others was because she did not have anyone at home to confide in. She had so much built in trauma that needed to be dealt with, but there was no one in her personal life to help her.
I became so intrigued that it sparked my desire to delve deeper into the world of psychology. I not only wanted to understand how the human brain responded to certain events, but also how to help others work through such events. I strive to become someone that young people can come to when they don’t have anyone else in their life to help them; someone like a local therapist or a school counselor. I want to be easily accessible to those who are in need, especially because mental health issues are a prominent issue in my community. Most young black people, specifically young black men, are raised by emotionally unavailable individuals that ruin their ability to regulate their own emotions, subjecting them to frequent outbursts and violent behavior. This behavior not being dealt with at a young age causes these young men to abuse their partners in future relationships and become unable to instead communicate through their problems. Although these issues are prominent with black men, similar issues are relatable for young black women. Statistics show that up to 60% of black women have reported to be a victim of some form of sexual assault before the age of 18. This is an extreme issue in this community. This traumatic event leads to some young black girls utilizing their body and becoming hypersexual to gain an appreciation for themselves. Since the sexual violence they were subjected to caused them to feel insecure about themselves, these girls feel as if this is the only way they might ever receive love or attachment. I would love to be able to contribute to ending this cycle of trauma in my community by tackling even some of these issues early on. I would be helping others to fully acknowledge their past and navigate their lives for mentally healthier futures.