I started college about 14 years ago with absolutely no idea of what I wanted to do when I graduated, and two years later, when it was time to declare a major, I was still not completely sure. I knew that I wanted to go into a field where I could help people, so my academic advisor suggested psychology.
It sounded interesting enough. Getting my bachelors degree in psychology, going on to get a masters in counseling and then working with people who suffered from mental health disorders would be a great opportunity to help people, plus it seemed like an interesting course of study.
I declared psychology as my major and signed up for my first semester of classes with nothing but psychology courses, and within a few weeks I realized just exactly what an exciting field I had chosen to get into.
We studied all kinds of mental health disorders, from major depression and bipolar disorder to schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder. All the while, I imagined that one day I would be counseling such people and offering them insights into their problems and how they could deal with them.
We learned that not all mental health disorders could be cured with therapy, and that some required medication, but I was not too concerned about it, because we were told that there would always be psychiatrists available to prescribe medication when necessary.
I went for my first internship at an institution that treated people with severe mental health disorders and who were prone to violence, because my professors wanted me to get the experience of working with the worst of the worse cases to see if it was something that I really and truly wanted to do.
It was a bit intimidating when I first went there, because there were some very threatening-looking people there, and knowing that they were were not mentally stable made it a bit unnerving. I tried to just be as friendly to people as I could and observe what the therapists were doing with the patients, and there were really no significant problems.
I took a second internship at a medical center where most of the patients were suffering from mild depression, social anxiety disorders or other mental health disorders that were not so severe, and I was in a much more relaxed and calm environment.
I never lost my enthusiasm for helping people with mental health disorders, but my life took a different turn and I ended up writing for a living. I have never had misgivings about being a writer, but I have wondered at times what kind of counselor I would have made.