It can be hard to pick a major when starting college, let alone pick a career path you want to follow. Many folks struggle with choosing a career that will provide both financial stability and personal enrichment, as well as incorporating their passions. Within our courses, we are also given information about possible career paths, but the PhD path within the field is usually emphasized. What if we want to pursue a career path regarding another passion of ours outside of our major?
I had the opportunity to interview Yeju Chang, a fourth year undergraduate majoring in Psychological Science (PSCI), and hear about her revisiting her passions through her major to shape her own path. She also shared how she creates a work-life balance and practices self-care as a full-time student. Let’s get into it!
I asked Yeju about how she decided to attend UCI, along with her decision to major in Psychological Science. She is a transfer student, and arrived here at UCI during the Fall of 2021. At her community college, she majored in Biology on a Pre-Medicine track, but said that she had always been interested in the field of psychology. Close to her transferring to UCI, she decided to change her major to Psychology, and apply to the university under Psychological Science. She explained to me how putting so much effort into completing her Pre-Med coursework within two years led her to feel burnt out. She felt like the tight time frame caused her motivation for pursuing medicine to shift from one based on interest and passion to one that felt more forced and extrinsic; it didn’t have that spark anymore. She explained: “at that moment, I wasn’t in a place where I wanted to explore [medicine] more. I wanted to do something that I knew I could be passionate about in that moment.” However, Yeju also stressed the fact that medicine was not off the table for herself in terms of future plans. She stated: “if it’s truly meant to be…I have all the time in the world to make that decision [to go back to medicine].” So, what are her future plans?
Yeju plans to revisit her passion for medicine and return to the path of becoming a physician. She expressed to me how the decision was not necessarily an easy one, but she feels immensely proud of herself for committing to it: “I was most proud of myself because I [made the decision] with a mind full of uncertainty. Because of all of my worries, I tend to want my parents’ or peers’ approval…but this was the first decision I had made where nobody was doing that.” She explained that those around her were putting their trust into her to make her own decision. She powerfully stated, “[it] was the first time I acknowledged myself as my own decision maker.” Psychology provided her with great knowledge for both her personal and professional lives, but she has realized that medicine is the passion she wants to pursue. Exercising her autonomy and making this choice for herself has been extremely beneficial for her and her journey. We’re rooting for you, future Dr. Chang!
Yeju and I also talked about self-care and how she maintains a work-life balance. For her, this is about sticking to a balanced routine, and slotting herself time for schoolwork and for leisure time. Yeju is a commuter student who lives close by, and she emphasized the fact that being able to live at home and be around family helps her to maintain her mental wellness. In order to frame her day with a good mindset, she makes sure to slot some time into her mornings to pray or practice gratitude. She told me that she likes to initiate her routine by getting outside of her room in order to feel more productive; her bedroom is more of a leisurely space for her. I think this idea can be very helpful; using your rest space just for rest can also help your downtime feel more relaxing! A large part of maintaining self-care for Yeju also involves working out. She will take a break from schoolwork to get a workout in, and she finds this very grounding. She explained: “I feel like I’m really able to just hone in my focus on something, but also with the goals of bettering myself physically and maintaining this healthy lifestyle.” It’s a good break from academic work that is still stimulating, and helps her feel good.
I was very inspired by Yeju’s next point: in the evenings after dinner, she tries not to do any work, and just uses the rest of the day for leisure. I don’t know about you, but I feel like the stereotype for college students involves us staying up into the late hours of the night studying, so this was very refreshing to hear. Yeju tries to give herself adequate time throughout the day to get through all of her responsibilities, that way she has adequate time to wind down as well. She’s learned to keep herself at a good pace and do her best to stick with this, as in the past she has overloaded herself with work with her wellness suffering the consequences. She told me that some days she does want to slack a bit on her work, but when this happens she tries to remind herself: “If I want to have my winding down time, I have to get this out of the way.” Get that work-life balance Yeju!
One point I took away from these conversations with Yeju was the importance of doing what is best for yourself. She has shaped her own path in order to promote her wellness and happiness, even if that meant making significant changes. She has also found a routine for work-life balance that works for her and benefits her both in the short- and long-term. So, find things that inspire you and benefit you, and that you feel like you can stick with; but don’t be afraid to adjust your plans. In her own wise words, “there is no pathway that is mandatory nor correct,” and while self-discipline is important, it is completely okay to be flexible with yourself. Exploring new things is a part of life, and at least in my opinion, things are much more interesting that way.