Somehow, in my world, plans seem to mean nothing. I planned how I wanted things to work out going from GC Gender Studies to MA Counseling to PhD Counseling, that plan has been derailed at step 2. One might think that this rather abrupt change of plans for me might cause me a fair amount of distress. Well, last night it did. Last night all I could think about was how much this messed with my plans. A fun thing about plans, they are never set in stone and often there are alternatives that are workable. Now, 24 hours later, it doesn’t really seem to mater much anymore.

A few minutes ago I was reviewing the graduate catalog, trying to piece together a liberal studies plan to discuss with Dr. Stephenson. I was focusing on interdisciplinary programs when I noticed the PhD in Health Psychology listed at the bottom of the page. I had almost forgotten that it is an interdisciplinary program. It is a really cool program that includes stuff from psychology, public policy, sociology, kinesiology and some of the health fields. The program does not require having a Masters degree for entry. The requirement is a bachelors OR masters in psychology, I hold the former. As with most PhD programs, the admissions criteria are steep and last year only 13 of 68 applicants were admitted. The joy of my current situation is that I still have 2 years of a master’s degree ahead of me. I can complete an MA in Sociology (which I am desperately hoping I am admitted to), and then apply to the PhD in Health Psychology, hopefully with an impressive academic record.

Health Psychology puts me on a slightly different trajectory than Counseling, but it is still in the same general area and allows me an opportunity for licensure, which is a big step in becoming a counselor or psychologist. I am still very attracted to psychology for the behavior science aspects, but the clinical diagnosis aspects are still a bit of a turn off. I am a big fan of letting as many people as possible in society carry the label of “normal”, and I would very much like to help individuals who find themselves somewhere other than normal by societies definition to cope with their difference.

I don’t know if I will even be admitted to the PhD program in 2 years, or if I will be admitted to Sociology this year, but I can certainly dream.