Let me preface by saying I did not always want to be anthropologist. If you had asked me my freshman year of high school what anthropology was I would have made something up. No, I knew that I wanted to be a veterinarian. I had had pets my entire life and I loved cats and I just knew I was destined to be the greatest veterinarian that ever lived.
Then I worked at a vet clinic.
Needless to say it did not end well; while there are a lot of great things about being a veterinarian, there are just as many bad things. I didn’t change my mind then, because I didn’t know what else I wanted to do in college. Until my senior year of high school just before I started applying to schools.
I read a book entitled Death’s Acre by Dr. Bill Bass and it literally changed my life. I know a lot of people say that, making this kinda cliché, but I am just being honest. I read the book, which was about forensic anthropology and fell in love with the discipline.
That’s better than watching Bones and deciding to be a forensic anthropologist for the sole reason of wanting a hunky FBI agent partner, right?
However, that’s not where it ended. I felt like I still owed something to veterinary medicine, as though I had to still to pursue that as a career. I didn’t actually change my mind until I got my mom’s permission, which is probably something I shouldn’t admit to. Regardless! I went to my mom and asked her if it was ok that I didn’t want to a veterinarian anymore and she told me to do what I wanted, to do what would make me happy.
So I came to college and immediately began taking Anthropology courses. I definitely made the right decision. I can remember my general adviser telling me not to feel bad about switching my major my freshman year because more than 60% of freshman did. Well…no offense to my general adviser but it’s four years later and I am about to graduate with a B.S. in Biological Anthropology.
Sometimes you just know what your calling is.