Why I Want To Be A Counselor Essay

Why I want to be a counselor?

Shakeyla Boulware

South University

The beginning

I believe the decisions we make early in our lives impacts our futures vastly. Even as a little girl I knew that whatever career choice I chose I wanted to be able to directly impact others. That desire sets me on the path to mental health counseling.

Why I want to be a counselor

While attending undergrad, my major changed numerous times pulling me in different avenues, however that desire that burned in me never wavered. I began my undergraduate studies as a Biology student. At the time I wanted to be a pediatrician. The more classes I took the more I knew this career field was not fulfilling. I then changed my major to early childhood education with the hopes of fulfillment, because of my love for children.

The change of my major also brought on a difference in curriculum which included psychology courses. At first, I was irritated at the amount of general education courses that needed to be completed before fulfilling the criminal justice degree requirements. I took my first psychology class in the fall of 2010 and from that point on I was captivated. I took more psychology classes ranging from developmental psychology to the psychology of personality. I began taking so many psychology classes as an elective, that I added psychology as my minor.

The different psychology courses began to pique my interest. It was intriguing to understand how the mind actually works. It was amazing to learn about the different theoretical approaches to counseling, because I always thought counseling was the act of telling someone how to fix their problems. I was fascinated in what made people tick. I wanted to learn everything I could about why people act the way that they do. I wanted to work in a career field that would help me acquire the skills needed to understand human