My Story: Why Start a Blog?

My Story: why start a blog?

October, 24, 2022

For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with understanding the motivations behind people’s behavior. In high school, it became clear to me that psychology was a field I wanted to study in depth, and I was lucky enough to enter college understanding exactly what I wanted to major in. Upon graduating, however, psychology’s lack of promise for lucrativeness gave me pause in continuing my studies. Having grown up in a household where money was a constant source of stress and contention, I felt it more important to choose a career guaranteeing my financial security, than to pursue something meaningful. As a result, I opted for advertising, falling in the cliched trap of chasing material success and justifying my choice that advertising would satisfy my passion as the field regularly draws on psychological research. Over the course of my proceeding six year career, I came to understand the error of my ways and realized the importance of prioritizing meaningful work over financial success.

Starting my career at AdAge’s Media Agency of the Year seemed like a dream come true as I was thrown into the glamorous world of advertising. As I had hoped, the job entailed utilizing psychological research and behavioral data in order to map audiences and derive marketing insights. This helped me feel as though I could satisfy my interest in psychology while following a well-defined and financially rewarding career path. There was also the added bonus of experiencing some of the best entertainment that New York City had to offer - concerts, Broadway shows, and Michelin star dining. At first I was thrilled that my lifestyle matched the picture of success that I had sought out. However, with time I began to question my career choice during late work nights, feeling unfulfilled by dedicating my time and energy into this field. Eventually, I recognized the absence of meaning in my work. I had been cheating myself, exploiting a field that I love, and trying to sell material goods for other businesses. I came to realize that I would not feel truly fulfilled unless I combined my love of psychology with a meaningful purpose. My picture of success shifted and my goal changed to help others as a counselor. 

At first, the significance of this realization escaped me. I was frustrated that I had spent six years chasing a facade of success. I regarded my work in advertising as a waste of time that would have been better spent continuing my education and starting a meaningful career sooner. Upon reflecting, however, I came to consider the lessons learned from this experience as invaluable. Aside from practical skills like effective communication, project management, and entrepreneurship that I hope to one day apply to my own private practice,  it taught me the importance of meaningful pursuits through following one’s passions and avoiding the pitfalls of expediency. 

There is no shortage of stories or maxims that illustrate the danger in shallow pursuits, but I believe this lesson was one that I needed to learn first hand, having equated money with happiness from a young age. My time in advertising was necessary for me to understand that material success alone is superficial, and can mean even less when it comes at the expense of meaningless or exploitative work. Although my fascination with psychology remained present throughout my undergraduate studies and short career in advertising, I came to understand that it would not be enough to simply honor my passion. Instead it became more important to put my passion to use through meaningful work, which is why I am pursuing my Masters in Mental Health Counseling.

This blog will serve as a place to share insights from that journey. I will share useful facts that I learn about in my classes, as well as any interesting observations about the field of mental health.