PIQ #1

Prompt: Please describe how you have prepared for your intended major, including your readiness to succeed in your upper-division courses once you enroll at the university.

I chose psychology due to my interest in understanding human behavior better and learning to improve the well-being of others’ mental health. Growing up, I had struggled with having an anxiety disorder and did not know how to cope with it. I learned how to handle it after getting a diagnosis and with experience. Having given an official diagnosis allows me to recognize when my anxiety symptoms may arise and allow me to research on my own, ask my therapist to help me, and find ways to cope with it. Such examples of finding ways to cope with my anxiety were using the box breathing technique, distracting myself, finding solutions to what causes my anxiety, and talking to a loved one for support. This led me to wanting to assist people who may be struggling with navigating their mental health condition. Being a queer trans man, I grew up having to deal with life struggles that are unique to being queer and I would like to also help others who are queer who may not have accepting parents cope with their living situation and with how society treats us.

In my academic experiences in community college, I participated in group discussions which allowed me to gain insight of other perspectives and communicative skills. These skills will help me in my career as it will allow me to help people better. I also conducted a research survey on the topic of how social media affects sleep. The survey is split into 3 parts. There is a demographic section where it asks about people’s personal information. There is part 1 section where I ask participants how much social media they use during the day. The part 2 section where participants are asked how much social media they use during the evening and before bedtime and if their sleep quality was affected. The survey included a demographics questionnaire, open-ended questions, and close-ended questions. Thus, I learned how to construct and administer an observational survey, analyzing the results, drawing conclusions based on the results, and upholding ethical practices.