My name is Yaroslava Zhuk, and I am coming from the small village in Ukraine. However, my life adventure carried me to many places. At first, I was living with my grandmother for seven years and had experienced the school life in the village; after the first year of school, my parents and I moved to the capital of Ukraine – Kyiv. This was when life became much more complicated for the eight-year-old girl, meaning me. A change was so big, I thought that no bigger problem could appear in my life…I was wrong.
Since the big moving my life has changed a lot. I had to become a different version of myself. As the years passed by I started feeling more and more comfortable with who I am and what I have. Life seemed to calm down; Kyiv became my hometown, and I finally felt like the part of this big city.
In the tenth grade, I found out that my dad is being transferred to another office. Moreover, this office is located in another city. Hearing this was upsetting at first, but then I started accepting it as the new opportunity to make my life more interesting and exciting. What I did not take into account is the fact that the city is also located in another country – the United States. This was another big challenge that appeared in my life.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and here I am beginning the new life in the new country. The first steps seemed to be terrifying and extremely challenging. It felt as though I cannot handle this change. As if my life started falling apart. For a seventeen-year-old girl not having face-to-face communication with friends felt terrible. The only good thing that I saw was having my parents living with me. However, that did not last for too long either. Very soon after I started college they had to move to Colorado.
The first steps of adaptation to the United States drained me and my personality. I was sitting in the apartment learning English non-stop. For the whole year, I was watching only English speaking movie and reading only English speaking books. My brain was shocked by such a change in languages. However, books and movies did not help as much as I hoped. I figured this out after I experienced the first semester in college. I should probably mention that my family moved to Jersey City, New Jersey. This is also where I went to college.
My freshman year still does not bring many good memories. It was the most stressful period of my life. Reading one chapter took several hours, writing one essay took weeks, creating a presentation was the most neurotic thing that I have done in my life. However, this stress is what helped me to choose the path for my future. The heaviness and discomfort were what pushed me to take psychology classes. I wanted to find the answers to why I feel a certain way and how can I fix it. Later I also realized that there are many other people like me who had difficulties adapting to the new environment and that it would be great to be helpful to those who struggle.
The sophomore year I felt more confident in myself. I felt like a different person. Moreover, I believe that my passion for psychology is what helped me to deal with these struggles. I started taking more and more classes in this field because I felt such a relief whenever I learned some new answers to complicated questions. After I started seriously considering to move on with psychology, I started looking for internships and any other opportunities that would give me more knowledge and experience in the field. This is when I found out that New Jersey City University may not be enough for what I want.
I decided to transfer to a different college. Another change. Another big step in my life that I had to learn how to adapt to. This time I do not feel weak and powerless. The mentality of this country has interestingly shaped me. Studying psychology made the change even more drastic.
Being in the field of social sciences is what makes a big difference in the perception of the world because plenty of everyday situations are playing out in a different light.
Never before I realized that Psychology is everywhere. By saying everywhere, I mean every field, every conversation, every milestone of a person’s life. Being in the area of social sciences has made me more curious in everyday life and gave me the desire to learn and develop as a person. Since I moved to the United States, I started being more interested in political situations in both Ukraine and the United States. I started noticing more problems society has and what lays in those problems’ roots. Nowadays, I do not feel as pressured by the present society. I am excited to be the part of this era and bring in what I have to offer. These thoughts are also developing even further because of the college courses. Certain classes have taught me how different groups of people function and why people do what they do. After having to research certain topics and issues for classes, I became more aware of what is happening in today’s world and especially how those events influence people.
The biggest concern that seems impossible resolve is laying in the negative aspect of stereotyping. More I learn about how people’s brain function automatically, more I realize the difficulty of fixing prejudiced thoughts. Those thoughts include sexism, racism, heterosexism and other issues society is dealing with. It is painful to accept the fact that every possible group of people is under the attack of stereotypes and prejudice. Moreover, the fact that people are born prejudiced is even more difficult to accept. However, this is why studying psychology seems like an excellent choice. Learning what I learn makes me believe that things can be changed, it is just a matter of time and education.
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