I've been playing catch-up since the start of the semester. I started off on the wrong foot by making that trip down to Singapore and attending my cousin's wedding. At that time it seemed to be an appropriate choice: not wasting that extra bus ticket, getting in touch with some relatives, witnessing my cousin's milestone, taking one last, long look at the Lion City and enjoying myself one last time before plunging into Year 3. In retrospect, I think my choice was governed more by emotions than reason. Why did I have a last minute change of heart? Why did I miss the first day of the semester? To not have any regrets related to missing that momentous occasion? To numb myself of the fact that I'm graduating soon? To suppress the anxiety and stress that come with doing my thesis?
Returning from Singapore and starting the classes needed some time to adjust to. All those conflicting emotions that I had to sift through! All those new knowledge and perspectives that I gathered!
I had difficulty picking this semester's electives, most of which were more demanding and less exciting. In the end, I settled with forensic psychology, health psychology and psychology at the workplace. The core subject, abnormal psychology, was challenging but intriguing. I learned about mental disorders and illnesses that I had had little knowledge of and much misconceptions about. I enjoyed the subject, so that little intrinsic motivation kept me going even though the lecturer was difficult to deal with and the textbook chapters were extremely detailed.
I took forensic psychology mainly because I like the topic and trust the lecturer who taught it. Forensic psychology is a combination of psychology and the law. With that said, it only touches briefly on certain aspects of criminology and law, but provides more insight on how psychologists can contribute to the legal system and sheds light on criminal offenders' psychology. What I learned from the drama "The Good Wife" can finally be put into good use, haha. We did an assignment on creating a fictional serial killer and profiling suspects, with my group scoring the highest because of the amount of details and effort we put in. Not the easiest assignment ever, but perhaps the most unusual. The other assignment for the elective was a presentation of our choice (skits, lecture, poetry etc.) describing a criminal. My group came up with an elaborate skit, which again required much effort and time. Although pop quizzes were given throughout the semester (which were rather stressful and tended to ruin my mood for the day), I enjoyed the elective enough to set aside my bad mood and learn something I actually have an interest in.
Studying about criminals and the mentally ill — my semester did take a darker turn.
Oh well, I finished my last final exam paper yesterday. Let the celebrations begin! Before I start my thesis. Now why that sounds awfully familiar?
