Came to a Decision

[whogeek]

So, some of you may remember that back in early December I went a bit depressive and stuff, and came up with a plan to get myself to a better place.  So I figure it's been a while, and I'm actually about to finish my counseling(what idiot came up with a 10-session limit for my campus counseling center?), and I've come to a decision on a major.

I actually took a couple of tests to figure out what my strengths are, and what jobs are best suited to those strengths.  Then, over spring break last week I did some research on some different careers, and I've come to a decision about what major I'm going to be switching to.  I'm going to go for an Anthropology major, with a concentration in Archaeology, and probably minoring in psychology or sociology.  I realized that as much as I enjoy chemistry and science, I wouldn't be happy sitting in a lab all day and doing the same basic motions over and over and over.  If I have a BA in Anthropology I'll be doing field work(which is what I want to do), but I won't be stuck in a lab every single day.  It'll be some lab stuff(filing, sorting, classifying, etc), dig sites, and working with museums and such.  It took my mom a little while, but after she thought over it some she realized that it really was a good fit for me.  So, hopefully in a couple of days I'll go talk to my advisor about changing my major and sorting that out.

One of my friends said: "It'll be like CSI, only not as dead."  And my response was: "Well, technically, it's like CSI stuff, but more dead."

But I really have to thank everyone who offered me support and advice during all that.  Especially jetpack_angel and thebritpopkid  for their "I've been there" wisdom.

Comments

[whogeek.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and it's something that I have found interesting in the past whenever I go to historic sites here. Like my visit to the Jamestown Settlement, where I could have stayed and looked at everything for days, when I had only a few hours.

Edward Evans-Pritchard.... I'll keep that in mind.

[talkingtocactus.livejournal.com]

i love places like that, where you feel like you can really immerse yourself :)

he studied a tribe called the Azande, and wrote a lot about their magical practices (it had a lot to do with killing chickens if i recall, it's been a good 5-6 years since i studied it!) and i think i remember learning that he was basically the front runner in anthropological relativism. i wrote an essay on it but like i said, a long time ago! this is hardly an academic source, but here ya go anyway: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evans_Pritchard

[whogeek.livejournal.com]

See, I'd want to study more the ancient cultures; Roman, Greek, Egyptian, etc. The more modern stuff is fascinating too, but I'm really into the ancient stuff.

[talkingtocactus.livejournal.com]

i always used to say that - i was really into ancient egypt for a long time (i even did a night course in reading/writing hieroglyphics and had a text book the size of a house about egyptian grammar!) and i always kind of thought modern history was dull by comparison, but when i accidentally ended up doing modern history for my degree i changed my mind :) i guess i like to cover all the bases, my favourite periods are probably ancient egypt (although never at degree level); medieval europe (750-1250) and the bit between about 1780 and 1918, oh and soviet russia. it's much more of a history POV but for me it's all about the social change - the periods where there was most change and upheaval for the ordinary person. i think that works for anthropology too, esp if you're doing the social side, but even on a more scientific basis, major change can affect things like nutrition, health, death rates and so on.

haha now i'm rambling :)