I remember walking into the transfer student orientation with excitement for the near future. I had just transferred from my local community college to one of the most prestigious universities in my home state. I had received an A in all of my sciences courses and was determined to earn my bachelors degree in biology. It was my favorite subject of the science courses I had taken so far. I had attended all of the information sessions for biology majors and was ready to add classes to my schedule. After signing up for my courses, I was escorted with my mother to another room where two women were seated. They informed me that most transfer students who majored in biology failed out of the university. They recommended majoring in psychology, which I had just taken before graduating and didn’t really like. I asked them about majoring in sociology, and they agreed this would be a better choice over biology.
At first, I was unsure about sociology since I had no time really to decide. Junior year transfer students have to know what they want to major in on orientation day. I stepped into my first sociology course full of hesitation and anxiety. I knew so much about biology but nothing really about sociology. I had taken the intro course at my prior college and enjoyed it. My first day of undergrad was also the first time I attended an upper level sociology course. I sat down and looked around to see if I knew anyone from community college. I knew no one. The professor walks in and oddly sits down, facing straightforward. All of a sudden without an introduction or hello, he began his lecture. He never addressed us and almost seemed robot-like. His lecture was like an abstract painting. Extremely abstract. I remember him saying something about the wall being there but not being there…. I was so confused. After the class ended, my classmates and I shuffled out of the classroom with stunned faces. What was that? I started to wonder if I had made a huge mistake.
After studying sociology for a few weeks, I came to love it. I had become so accustomed to seeing the world from a scientific point of view that I never really considered the social aspects of life. My sociology courses opened my eyes to different perspectives of the world and the people living in it. Eventually, I realized there were so many angles to American society. I took a course on trauma and learned how tragic experiences can bring people together, creating a culture. I attended a racism course that introduced me to different theories and perspectives of racism, of which I was not aware, even as a person of color. I learned a great deal about my history and culture through most of my sociology courses, which surprised me. In the end, I loved sociology. During my last semester, I became a research assistant for my favorite TA. We studied American work-life balance for people in high-status careers through data collected through interviews. I definitely enjoyed organizing and analyzing the data with her. If you have to opportunity to do research, do it!
Out of all of the courses I attended, my favorite was Health and Society. Health and Society focused on the social determinants and cultural dimensions of medicine. Before this class, I had mainly examined medicine through a scientific lens. This class allowed me to better understand how social factors such as race, class, income, and education level can affect one’s access to health care, which then drew my attention to the lack of medical care in disadvantaged areas. The course also discussed the importance of medicine and how various theories and documents were socially established, such as the germ theory of disease and the Hippocratic Oath. It was in this particular course where I found my true calling as a physician.
I was told you could major in anything and be pre-med. After graduating, I realize this is true. I had a pre-med friend major in music, and another friend majored in Spanish. I truly believe you can do anything you love. You shouldn’t spend 4 years studying something you don’t enjoy. If you want to major in architecture, do it! Just be able to somehow connect your major of choice to your love for medicine. Majoring in a humanities can broaden your understanding and perspective of the medical field. In the future, I hope to treat and serve underprivileged children and their families as a general pediatrician. I feel that my education in sociology will help me do just that.
Thanks for visiting my blog! Comment below if you have additional questions. Be sure to check out my other posts. More to come soon! Until then be kind and remember tomorrow depends on what you do today. Hope you enjoyed reading! — Taylor ❤
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