From Charisse Tan, Batch 2002 of Southville International School Highschool, now a part-time faculty at DLSU Manila. :)
Hello!
I'm Charisse Tan and I'm a part-time lecturer and a part-timer researcher at De La Salle
University Manila. I love what I do and I hope that I get to do this for a long time. I wasn't
always this sure though. When I was your age, I had a very vague idea of what I wanted to
be or what I would be good at. There were so many things I wanted to try and so many
things I wanted to be. I was scared of not knowing and anxious to figure it out before I had
to submit my college applications.
I spent a lot of time talking to my parents, teachers, and friends about the right course. My
parents wanted me to take the course which would ensure financial success and security.
Some teachers considered my strengths and advised me to take courses that I would
naturally succeed in. Other teachers advised me to apply for the less popular courses so
that I could increase my chances in getting into the schools of my choice. My friends told
me to take the trendier, seemingly in-demand course. I took it all in, but I couldn't shake off
the pressure.
I was vaguely interested in psychology. I didn't really know what it was about. I considered
it because I wanted to be like Dana Scully from the TV show The X-files (she had a degree
in psychology). So when people would ask me, I would tell them (with an uncertain tone)
that I was thinking about psychology. I wasn't sold until my friend's mom told me that it was
a good choice because it meant that I would have a lot of different job opportunities. Sure,
you could choose to be a psychologist and work in psychiatric wards, but you could end up
doing so many other things too! With a degree in psychology, you could pursue a career in
medicine, education, business, tourism, journalism, advertisement, research, law, and
much more. This appealed to my uncertainty and I decided that it was the right choice.
I was so happy when I found out I got into DLSU's double degree program in Psychology
and Education. I got lucky. After figuring out what Psychology is truly about, I fell in love
with it. Other people have different stories. After a year or so in college, a good number of
my friends shifted to other courses. Some moved to other schools. Most of my friends
turned out okay. Some are quite successful. I realized that it was okay to not know. You
just have to keep trying to figure it out. Ask around, join organizations, and figure out what
makes you come alive. When you figure that out, do whatever you can to get better at it.
