My family and ancestors have helped shape my identity by, generations ago, immigrating to America and leading me into a life with a wealth of opportunity. Since many people here are not afforded those same opportunities, as a social worker I would like to do what I can to help. What steered me towards an interest in social work is just my love of other people and how much it hurts my heart to see people struggling.
I will say that I am not fully educated on the extent of a social worker’s duties or everyone they are able to help, but I am in the process of learning more. I do know that social workers I have known have said that they wish there were more people who cared more in the industry, but that they understand why this is difficult to accomplish, with social work being such a potentially physically and emotionally draining profession. 
I have heard throughout my childhood so many complaints about excessive domestic violence and substance abuse in my home state of Alaska. The long dark winters and the correlated seasonal depression along with the large number of people living remotely in the state can create dangerous environments. Growing up watching shows like Alaska State Troopers and just having experiences with people in your own life you learn this.
Most things are politically charged and social work is not an exception. People are always trying to find and implement new and better ways to deal with the world’s problems. One thing that helped to draw me to social work is Freeform’s The Fosters. While The Fosters portrays Hollywood’s glamorized version of the career, it also addresses many social issues that I am passionate about and conveys the characters’ struggle to change them.
I have always been a very motivated person and I strive to over achieve a lot of the time. My last two years of high school I had a lot of pressure on me to plan the rest of my life right then and there. When people wouldn’t listen to me when I told them that it is unrealistic to choose something so big all at once and at such a young age I quit putting in so much effort and decided not to go to college. It wasn’t until about June of this year that I had had enough of people making me feel bad about not going to college that I caved in and decided to go. I had gotten a few scholarships to Alaska schools so I decided to go to the University of Fairbanks and have a more traditional college experience, away from home.
When I originally applied to go to the University of Fairbanks this summer I applied to major in social work. I didn’t even want to go to college but felt pressured to and I chose the major that sounded like it would interest me the most and therefore be the most likely to hold my attention once I got here. I have since done more research on what interests me and what I want to do as a career. I have chosen to stay in this class this semester as it does interest me and I think it will benefit me socially and academically, personally and professionally, but my new goal is to major in political science and get a degree in law. I have always wanted to go to law school, aside from my two year hiatus from caring about much of anything, but it felt too aspirational for a while. I got some gumption back and I figured that since I had been pushed into going to college I might as well make the most of it. Currently I am still unsure as to what type of law will be the best fit for me, but I am working towards figuring that out. Ultimately, my dream is to get into politics, as I have a lot of passion towards the improvement of our country and strong opinions on multiple social issues. I am truly interested in America’s government and I feel that that is a platform that I can strive to make a difference through.All in all, who knows where I will end up. I may realize that I love this program and choose to stick with it or I may change my plan a thousand times. I do believe that each person creates their own reality and as long as I know what I want, I am happy to work towards it. I have a lot of time left in my life for as many career changes as I can persuade myself to work for, I just hope that I make the most of each one.
Kelsey McFarland
Hey Devin!
I can relate to the pressure to go to school that you described. My family always made it clear that I was expected to get a college education, ever since I was young. Like you, I also took a break after highschool before applying to college, and then I stopped going during the pandemic. This is my first semester back!
Although it seems as though you have found something that interest you in your studies, I just want to say that regardless of the outside pressure, make sure you’re making decisions that you believe are best for YOU. There are always going to be people who have conflicting opinions than that of your own, but it’s not their life. I’ve found that if you do what you think is best for your health and happiness, you come out happiest in the end. No one but you gets to live your life!
Wishing you the best in your college journey!
-Kelsey
Dilyn Martin
Hi Devin, I agree with how The Fosters show social issues, but in a more glamorized way. I also like Social Work, because I want to be the person that helps people. I hope you figure out what career suits you the best.
Noor Shubair
Hey Devin,
I am sorry that you were pressured to go to college, but I am glad that you decided to make the most of it. I think that this class will still be useful to you in political science, even though you no longer want to major in social work. There is a type of social worker that works on large scale social issues, who address these issues by advocating or lobbying for specific groups within our political system, or by holding elective office. That is especially good for you, since you said that one reason you want to get into politics is your strong opinions on many different social issues. I hope that this will end up being the case for you.