I'm SO excited to go back to Clemson in the fall and to graduate with the major/minor i'm graduating with. I remember a few years back when I wasnt sure what to major in...I took so many of those aptitude/career tests (the legit ones through school) just to get an idea. Every time my list came up with the same things: Artist, teacher, actor, social worker, counselor, artist.

All of those things sound wonderful to me. Obviously when I was younger, the art and the acting appealed to me most, but as I began my college career in art (I was smarter than to pursue the acting portion..for my future's sake) I was essentially feeling like I was putting work into something that was going to be a dead end path when I graduated. Don't get me wrong--I personally know people who have greatly flourished as artists..but as much as I love art, I started to not love art. I started to not appreciate it like I used to. It became a "job" and there was so much pressure to perform not in the ways that you would like to, but in the ways where you thought you'd get the best grade from the professor because of HIS/HER taste..not your own. I worked with a LOT of talented students, and I think the world of them...but I just feel like I need something more stable when it comes to a career.

I got my first real taste of counseling this past summer at Camp Crestridge, I've talked about it so many times, but I really felt that God had me there for a huge reason. Being able to mentor and counsel girls from ages 7 to 18 was both challenging, emotionally difficult, and the best experience i've ever had. Whether I made some small difference in one girl's life, or positively affected 30 of them..it was so worth it.

I remember being younger, and my mom sitting down with me on multiple occasions to tell me that when I listen to my friend's problems, I can't let it affect me as much as it did. I used to get so upset when they were going through hard times, I would literally empathize so greatly with them that it hindered me from my own problems sometimes...now, that was not a great quality in my younger years, but i've learned that there are times when it's been a blessing. After much prayer, and eliminating art and acting off my "list," I thought of teaching..but my heart just isn't in it. I would enjoy it i'm sure, but I wouldn't love it.

I decided that these qualities growing up, my personality, and my experience this summer, and LOTS of prayer...were pointing me to major in sociology. So that's what i'm doing-more specifically Sociology with a concentration in social services and a minor in psychology.

Social work and counseling, hopefully with either youth or in rehabilitation centers, is SO exciting for me. And with the minor in psychology i'll be able to stay more in the clinical aspects of social work. After 3+ years of being hesitant about what it is i'm in school for, i'm finally so happy and so ready to think more in depth about life and work after college. HUGE answered prayer. Thank you, Jesus!!