Hello Class,
My name is Hannah Mears and I am a freshman aspiring to be a Broadcast Journalism major. I am from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and recently took a road trip to Denver Colorado (see image below). I titled this blog post Passion Over Pay because I originally wanted to be a Nurse Practitioner or Pediatrician my entire life. If any of you know about either of those careers you know that their incomes are significantly higher than an average job. However, I chose to take the journalism route because although I have always enjoyed science class, I loved writing and public speaking so much more. I chose this class because I took a liking to my classes in high school that challenged my brain by forcing me to think critically.
I have never really traveled anywhere out of the country in my life, so my recent trip to Denver, Colorado was the farthest I have ever been. Even though I have never traveled significant miles in my lifetime so far, I have a passion to want to see the world. I think majoring in broadcast journalism gives me incentive to branch out and travel to report world issues. I could even travel around the United States for sporting events if I choose to go into sports journalism. The world is so beautiful and should not be taken for granted. I want to take every chance that I can to see things before it is too late.
This class has me thinking of so many different areas of science that interest me. I am excited to hear about the topics we discussed the first day of class. I also thought of a new topic because as someone who enjoys to read and write I was always into mysteries. With mysteries there was usually a bad guy or criminal and the ones that grabbed my attention the most were the murderers. I know that sounds pretty gruesome, but I just cannot wrap my mind around how someone can kill another human being. This lead my brain to another question of Are Serial Killers Born or Created? There are several different theories about serial killers having something in their brain that makes them want to kill from the start, but there are also theories about life experiences that cause one to be so violent. I for one really do not know which side to choose because it could truly go either way if supported with the right evidence. Here is a link to a story I found intriguing about serial killers to get your mind thinking about whether serial killers are born or created. SERIAL KILLERS I find it so fascinating that the human mind can work so many different ways. I would love to hear feedback from the class about ideas on this question. I think it would be a cool discussion to have in class and hear more opinions about this topic. I do not want it to seem like I am a crazy chick, but come on we all enjoy a little mystery every once in awhile.
Find it very interesting that you brought up the about serial killers being born or made. Last year i took a psychology class and we covered an entire unit on this. We discussed specific factors that were exhibited in both from birth and life experiences. Based off of these things,it is possible that scientists could potentially find people that have a strong chance of becoming a serial killer. Now this would be a ridiculous thing to examine every single person to see if they might eventually become a serial killer. But it could be very helpful to therapists, law enforcement agencies, and schools. Therapists could look at patients they already have and if it seems they have characteristics of a serial killer, specific treatments could be introduced. Law enforcement could use it to help narrow down suspects and then schools would have about the same purpose as a therapist, except for they would not implement treatments.
Hey! I really love and respect the fact that you decided to follow your passion rather than pay. I know that is a really hard decision to make, but it will definitely make the rest of your life easy and totally worth it. If you ever feel discouraged or need reassurance, here (http://www.blackenterprise.com/career/passion-over-profit-how-to-get-past-the-career-pressure/) is a link that talks about a few tips in pursuing your dreams! I also am super fascinated in serial killers. I had a whole section about them in my Exploring Human Behavior class last year. I think it’s like nature vs. nurture- it just depends on the person. Like it talked about in your article, it may be because of mother’s smoking and drinking while one was in the womb (born), or just parent’s being aggressive, leading one to act the same (created). In my opinion, there is not one identical person/brain/species in the world, so it is hard to pin point what causes it.