International Politics 

During high school, I took several Advanced Placement courses that gave me 22 hours of college credit. I wanted to use this head start as an opportunity to add more to my degree. Initially, I was not sure what I wanted to have as a minor. Economics, exercise science and kinesiology, political science, and even psychology were all options. I decided to go with a minor outside of the Belk College of Business that also could be related to my studies. I took Comparative Politics during the first semester of my freshman year to fill up my political science requirement, and I really enjoyed the course. We learned about all the different world governments and systems, which I found pretty interesting. With the AP Government credit I received from high school, I was already one-third of the way to a political science minor. During my sophomore year I decided to take International Politics. I anticipated that it would be similar to Comparative Politics, just on a more international scale. I was very wrong.

 

In Comparative Politics, class consisted of a lecture with slides. I enjoyed this method of teaching because of how simplistic it was, and I felt that I learned very well in this manner. International Politics used a similar style of lecture with a PowerPoint, but there was a lot more class discussion. I was not very fond of the class discussion piece. I do not remember a day that I was not annoyed by what some of my classmates were saying. All of the extremists seemed to thrive during this portion of class. There were far too many egos and controversial opinions for me to be comfortable. I certainly was not going to share how I felt about a subject in that class. I stayed quiet throughout the semester, made an “A” in the class, and decided that the world of political science was not for me.

 

Looking back, I now see this time as a failure, but also as a learning experience. I am not a huge fan of not finishing something I started. During my early college career, and even now to an extent, I struggled with being in places that were uncomfortable. I was not comfortable in the world of political science, so I left. I was not comfortable in the Praise of Science class for UHP, so I left for Body Image, which actually turned out to be a very positive experience. I was not comfortable in the Old Testament class I took as a freshman, so I dropped the course. I always looked at being uncomfortable as a bad thing. I never thought it could be a learning experience because I was much too caught up with what other people were doing. I needed to be thrown in the deep end, and it took me almost two years of college to figure that out.

 

Looking back, sometimes I wish I had stuck it out in political science. It almost plagued me for an entire semester. However, thanks to this process of self-actualization, I realized that I do not need to force myself to be someone I am not. My need to finish what I started does not always have to be the rule. I did not belong in the world of political science. I need to be comfortable with who I am. Does it make me a failure? No. Does it mean I cannot handle the field? No. It means that I am learning who I truly am. I was annoyed with myself for the longest time because I dropped out early instead of telling myself I made the right choice. I am simply not meant for that realm of study. I am now okay with that statement and, that for me, is the greatest example of my self-actualization.