Psychology's Impact On My Education by Makia

Psychology's Impact On My Education by Makia - September 2017 Scholarship Essay

As a sixteen-year-old in high school, my emotions can get a little out of hand at times and sometimes I’m baffled at why I react a certain way to things. One minute I’m crying because I’m frustrated, the next I’m crying because I’m stressed out. My second semester as a sophomore in high school, I took Psychology as an elective. Looking back to January, I can say that taking this course aided me in understanding myself as a growing young adult. What is Psychology? Well to explain, Psychology is the study of the human mind and it functions. Taking this class has impacted my education by allowing me to understand myself more, know the effects of an unhealthy mentality, and the ethics of Psychology when helping someone.
To begin, one of the first lessons we observed in Psychology is emotions and why we feel the way we do. In this lesson, I learned that my emotions can be affected by a number of ways, whether it be because of how I grew up as a child or my brain and its way of coping with situations. I now understand that I can’t always be in control of my emotions because some decisions happen on impulse. The brain will do its best to keep you going and even protect you from harmful events. For example, when our hands get too close to a hot object, our nervous system sends a message to our brain which then leads to us pulling our hand away to prevent being burned.
Furthermore, being in high school can be a bit stressful at times, from turning in essays that are due to taking tests that prepare us for college. Because of this, our bodies begin to react to the pressure it's being put under which isn’t always the best thing to experience. Some individuals become depressed or fatigued which result in poor mental health. Quite a few serious cases of depression or fatigue can even lead to death. Ways to deal with stress and better your health can include: working out, having a healthy diet, talking to a psychiatrist, or even just relaxing to give yourself a break from all of the negative things. Meditation is something that I personally do to ease away the things I stress about in my life
Finally, as a psychologist, there are rules that you have to follow when either doing an experiment or helping someone. These rules, also known as ethics, focus on minimized harm and informed consent toward patients or experimental participants; these ethics can also be applied to how you live personally. As a psychiatrist you must not force a patient to do anything they may be uncomfortable with, disregard their beliefs, spread confidentiality, etc. You are to assist your patient or participant in the best and most reassuring ways possible. By doing this your experiments/conferences may operate smoother without any interruptions. This may also allow you to have a stronger bond and trust with the other individual.
In conclusion, taking Psychology as an elective has affected my education greatly. The class and projects I also participated in were very interesting and educational. This course has helped me have a better understanding of myself, be able to identify and resolve an unhealthy mentality, and the ethics applied to Psychology when helping/experimenting with someone. I learned that your brain helps you stay aware of your surroundings and focused on the things that really matter. Psychology has also opened my mind to another major that I may be interested in taking in college.