America's Next Top Psychologist by Samantha

America's Next Top Psychologist by Samantha - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

When I was younger, I wanted to be a fashion designer. If you knew me now, you'd find that pretty funny because my closet is filled with identical plain t-shirts from left to right. As a child, I used to ruin notebooks by scribbling my outfit ideas in them; no notebook was safe from my brilliant creations. This aspiration lingered well into my tween years. I obsessed over watching America's Next Top Model and hung photos of the latest trends on my walls. I remember vividly in middle school completing a 'Plan for the Future' project wherein you picked a career, found its salary and attempted to 'live' off that salary via a budget. I recall seeing the salary of fashion designers and scoffing, thinking I was going to be famous, not one of those run-of-the-mill designers for a chain store or something. I can't exactly remember when I abandoned this dream. I don't think it was all at once, rather, over time I came to the realization that I was neither stylish nor creative, which posed a considerable problem.

In high school, I favored civics and biology, which didn't much help me narrow down my career goals. Could I be a lawyer with exceptional knowledge on the life cycle of fish? Or, perhaps a marine biologist who is well versed in civil litigation? Neither of those sounded exceptionally appealing. So, I went to college without direction and hoped I'd find it along the way. Luckily, I did. I took a semester of Introduction to Psychology and loved it. I took a few more psychology classes and decided that this was a great fit for me. I began working internships, laboratory hours, and volunteering in order to gain experience for graduate school. Here I narrowed my research interests and met valuable mentors, who offered guidance and support. This upcoming year I am entering a graduate program at Villanova-- one step closer to accomplishing my goals. I still ruin notebooks, but now it's with half-formed research ideas. I will never become a famous fashion designer, but I think that's for the best.