I have written about the changes that I have made when it comes to my degree while I have been here. Last year, I wrote about what I wanted to do. I was a history major with a minor in philosophy with a focus on law and politics. And back then, I said that I could not be happier with my decision. Well, I have switched things since last time.
Over the summer, I was really struggling with figuring out what I want to do for a career. I still wanted to do something either in the law field or in the criminal scene (not being a criminal). Over the summer, my mother and I were watching the show The First 48, and that show re-sparked my interest in forensic science and crime scene investigation. After a few weeks of thinking it over and talking it over, I switched my minor from philosophy to criminology. Yeah, that came back and haunted me a bit.
When I came back to campus, I still thought that I was going to go into crime scene investigation after graduating from here, and I was telling myself that I was happy. A few weeks went by, and it was time for the club fair. I was at the Mock Trial table with the team’s current president, Max, and later the vice president, Donovan. While at the table, Ella came up to me, saying that she had something for me. She handed me a sticker that said, “future lawyer” (hint #1). That sticker now lives on my computer.
During the mock trial class, we had an assignment where we had to write a direct examination (basically, questions like “How would you describe the relationship between Charlie and Rob this season?”). Before I turned in the assignment, I asked Max if he could take a look at it and see if there were any objections or odd questions that he noticed. He told me that there was nothing that he could really see and that “I was a natural” (hint #2). His words, not mine.
But we had to present our questions in class, and AnnMarie, you queen, was my witness, and you did absolutely amazing! But during class, I kept focused because if I looked towards Dr. Gillham to try to see his reactions, I would have started getting nervous, thinking that it was all wrong.
After the last question, I went back to my seat and looked at Dr. Gillham, and he looked annoyed about it. He said that it was really good and that he had to get picky about what to critique. I also want to preface that the only reason my questions were good was because I had two amazing lawyers last year, Max and Emma. I said this to Max, and I will always say that the reason I was good was that I had two great mentors.
As of last week, I received an email from Dr. Gillham, basically saying that he thinks that “I would make one hell of a lawyer” and that I should consider double majoring in philosophy or minoring in philosophy (hint #3). So, I emailed him to talk it over with Dr. Gillham, so I could possibly have an idea of how many more classes I would have to take (only seven more classes, which is not that bad).
After I emailed him and after talking it over, I decided the next day that I would double major in history and philosophy and that I would go back to my original idea of going back to school to pursue paralegal studies and then going to law school if I wanted. I can now, finally, say that I am happy with what I am pursuing and what I believe I want to do for a career. I cannot wait to see what the future is going to hold.