when I grow up

            As some of you heard, I have changed my major!  I am so, so excited about it!

            When I first got to BYU, my major was dietetics.  I think I would have really enjoyed it- but I was in it for the wrong reasons.  As I thought about it more, I decided to change to Home and Family Living with a Community Involvement emphasis.  I got a lot of guff about that.  “Ohhh, getting your MRS degree I see” (which doesn’t even make sense anyway, because there are usually only like 2 boys in those classes and one of them is married. If you’re at BYU to get married go be an engineer. Lots of boys.).  Well, I was actually doing it because I wanted to work with a non-profit organization or for a welfare program. (Yes, you can get a real job and make a salary doing that. ).

            Anyway, I was enjoying my major, but I started exploring some other options. I started looking into one in particular after I heard about it from my co-worker Rochelle.  After doing some seriously thinking, research, and talking to academic counselors, I decided to make the switch. My new major is:

Family and Consumer Science Education!

            With my old major, I was leaning towards doing something like working for a welfare program helping young and single mothers learn home living skills and find a job and things like that.  Well, this is even more perfect to do that. There are a lot of other options, too.  I’ll be certified to teach high school (I’ll see if I actually want to do that after I take practicum, hah), and there are a lot of other organizations and programs I can get involved with. It’s actually quite versatile, and I would be learning really useful skills and information.

            In Sociology the other day, my professor was talking about the BYU motto of ‘Enter to learn, go forth to serve’, and showed us a talk about 'finding your true calling'. The point he made was: choose to do something that you feel is meaningful- not only for salary and prestige but for the impact you can have. You can find meaning in any job- but make sure you are doing what you do for the right reasons.  That being said, I’m confident in my decision about my major. I think that I am doing it for the right reasons. 

However, I think I’ll be getting even more guff over this than I did for my previous major.  Obviously it's very 'homemakey'. I’ll be honest- I want to stay home with my kids. But I’m not going to school ‘just in case’-  I think education is very important and that people should strive to learn throughout their lives.  Mothers do more teaching than anyone. 

Being a neuroscientist isn’t more valuable than being a mother.  One of the world’s most renowned surgeons, Elder Russell M. Nelson, said, “the highest and noblest work in this life is that of a mother.” There is no better way to impact society than by being a mother. President Gordon B. Hinckley said it this way: “You [mothers] are the real builders of the nation wherever you live, for you have created homes of strength and peace and security. These become the very sinew of any nation.”  President Benson also gave a very blunt and very good talk directed toward mothers. Click here if you want to read it.

my sister Jennifer & niece Maggie (photo by rhonda steed)

Anyway, choose what you do for the right reasons, and try not to look down on others because of what they choose.  Just take stock of what you personally are doing and why you are doing it.  I hope this post didn’t come across as super negative or critical.  I just wish that people could see the true importance of motherhood- and womanhood- and see the value of it rather than saying that it’s being ‘just a mom’.  To all you moms out there, whether you work outside of the home or not- I think you’re fantastic and doing something very, very important.

            No but seriously- I’m totally stoked about my new major.  The only downsides are that I’m going to have 35 hours of class a week, work as much as 20 hours a week, and then do homework sometime in there, have an extra semester of class and have to go spring/summer, and probably thus not be able to do a marathon as soon as planned. So yeah, it’s going to be a rough time, but it’ll be worth it. I’m excited! Wish me luck!