Freewrite #4 - Current Major and Career Goals

As I mentioned previously, my current major is Biology. I also have minors in Psychology and English (Creative Writing). I switched majors last semester because my main area of interest is in biological research. This was true when I was majoring in Psychology also, as I was more interested in brain research related to biological causes of disorders, rather than in a counseling capacity. I had been planning to go on to study Biopsychology later, either in the accelerated Masters program or the Ph.D. program, but after speaking with advisors in three departments, Psychology, Neuroscience and Biology, I decided that the best mix of classes would happen with a Biology Major and Psychology minor. That would keep my options open in case my goals changed and especially if I decided not to limit my research interests to the brain. I hope to narrow my focus within the next year (my junior year) so that I can decide which direction to pursue in Grad school. I see myself working in biomedical research or biotechnology in the next five years or so. In addition, since I also write fiction, it would be great if I can incorporate my scientific pursuits into works of fiction - think Kathy Reichs, the forensic anthropologist who both works in the field and writes fiction based on her work, or the late Michael Crichton, who so awesomely incorporated his knowledge of genetics into the Jurassic Park series (and who also wrote for ER, one of my previous favorite TV shows). Given that I’m studying for this as a second (well actually more like third or fourth) career, I would hope that in 5, 10 or 15 years, I will have accomplished something truly worthwhile in the field - maybe a new discovery, or at least a best selling novel!