By: Melissa Boyd (Whetstone Staff Writer)
Melissa Boyd
I went to a vocational high school, where my specialty was biotechnology.
You’d think biology made me happy.
Well, that’s what I thought, too.
You know, when you go four years thinking you love something, and then you see it for how it really is, and your whole point of view has changed, it’s a little scary.
I thought I loved biology, because in high school I did. I took Biology I at Wesley my senior year of high school, and I didn’t really like it, but I thought I was going through an extreme case of senioritis.
I did have senioritis my last year of high school – but I certainly didn’t my last semester, starting out with 17 credits. However, I ended up dropping one of my major requirements, and getting a C in another. In my entire high school career, I had gotten two B’s. Let’s just say that the past two C’s – Biology 1 and Chemistry 1 – were shocking.
Then I started Organic Chemistry, which was really just a bad idea. I mean, I already was lost in my studies. I had no idea what I was doing in Chem 1, so how was I going to pass Organic? Well, I went for it anyway. Mostly because I had no idea what I would want to do with my life other than something I’d thought about all the time in high school as my “dream job.†A doctor – I was shooting for the stars!
Before I went to my vocational high school, though, I did have other dreams. I had thought about being a music teacher, but I’m way too nervous to sing solo in front of so many students all the time!
This semester, I decided I couldn’t take any more of this science! I decided Education K-8 would be my major, because I’ve already been a teacher’s assistant in many different volunteer positions, and have always loved it.
People questioned my decision like there was no tomorrow. I mean, it is a rather large change – Biology major to Education K-8 with a content in English. I also want to get certified for teaching special needs children, which is what I had thought about doing if I were to become a doctor, so it’s really not all that different. Just a different side of the story.
People didn’t question me because of the change, though. Most people thought I was “stupid†because Wesley’s Education program had lost one of its accreditations.
To be honest, it was one of the reasons I had waited at least a month before even saying the thoughts aloud.
But our education program is on the right path to regaining accreditation, and I’ve had many staff and administration members tell me so. I’ve also had a family friend from the Department of Education tell me Wesley was working hard to regain the accreditation. So I’m not really worried.
To change or not to change was a big decision to make, but I think it was one worth thinking about. It was a choice I made that will affect me the rest of my life and I’m happy I made it.
