Personal Statement- Master’s Degree in Psychology
While growing up, a person experiences countless differing disciplines of psychology even without realizing it. These experiences range from simple interactions of daily activities to rare emotional traumatic events that accompany losing a friend or a relative. In my personal experience, I remember when my family moved to America from Barbados. The first three months were the worst of my life since I had no friends and the fact that I had left my friends back killed me inside. I found myself in a situation where I needed someone to talk to besides my family. I was at a point of getting into depression until I joined High School at George W. Wingate Highschool and made a few friends. At this point in my life, my interest in studying human behavior started to develop.
From experience, I have learned that psychology influences every aspect of our everyday decisions and shapes us into what we are. I must admit that I did not grow up aspiring to become a psychologist, but various factors both academic and non-academic experiences have pushed to this path. I became initially interested in studying psychology when I was helping a friend who was experiencing issues at home and she was considering suicide. At this point, I felt so hopeless trying to help her out in her issues and the desire to study human behavior persisted. However, I had always admired one of the relatives who was a renounced fashion designer back in Barbados. Also being one of the most marketable and profitable areas in the United States, I decided to study fashion merchandising at Kings Borough College. However, this was not my career path and had to drop my 2-year degree. Although I was attracted to studying psychology, I decided to start with other short courses to lay a foundation.
Many aspects have continued to attract me to psychology. Since I started my Bachelor’s Degree in psychology, I have realized that psychology is quite a diverse field. Particularly, there are both social and biological aspects each different but very important. From the research I have acquired in the bachelor’s degree, I have realized that both the living environment and genetics play a major role in shaping a person’s personality. Therefore, these two halves of psychology have joined to reveal several facts about humans. When I attended a psychology class, I knew I wanted to become a clinical psychologist. When I researched clinical psychology, I discovered many fascinating things about it.
People have always stated the importance of certain critical periods in the development of a child. This includes timeframes for empathy, learning speech, and socialization. But what happens when a child misses one of these time frames due to one reason or another. This question has been driving me deeper into the field of psychology. In my master’s program, I intend to research more on child psychology, especially those with special needs.
The majority of my previous degrees are essay-based, heightening my awareness of utilizing literacy effectively. This is quite important when pursuing a master’s degree in psychology because without writing and reading skills one would not be able to develop a structured and well -thought answer. Additionally, the bachelor’s degree in psychology has taught me to be creative and have also developed a sense of broadmindedness when considering questions and can see it from various perspectives. Therefore, the basics of psychology I have gained in my previous educational background have made me appreciate history psychology. Additionally, the bachelor’s degrees in professional studies and public administration links to psychology as they aim to understand human behavior.
As my interest in psychology developed, I have been involved in a lot of volunteering activities. Among the organizations I have volunteered is New York Cares, which helps the less privileged in the society. I have found myself so connected with children at the center. I have been found myself engaging in humanitarian activities such as handing out food to low -income families, volunteering at senior centers, and cleaning up the community. I have also been actively involved in researching children and adolescent mental illnesses. Outside volunteering I have hobbies and interests. One of my greatest hobbies is bike riding in the park which also I take as part of my fitness program. While taking bike rides, I have encountered different people with mental illness, which also pushes me further to this field. Whenever I have time, I take walks around New York City. Adventuring and traveling to new places have also been hobbies.
Completing a degree in clinical psychology will enable me to research the role of different contexts in the development of mental conditions. Additionally, I will also be able to specialize and work as a therapist, helping children with special needs. A master’s degree in psychology will also allow me to climb up the corporate ladder, particularly in the organization I currently work for. This master’s program in psychology will help me to design logical experiments and think scientifically while testing my hypotheses while help pathway to continue in academia and become a psychologist that can inspire the next generation of researchers.