Year Review: Are Zodiacs Right?
I want to start off by saying I have never been into Zodiac signs. I know people are into them and believe in energy and destiny and everything. I am not saying I do not believe in it, but I do not have knowledge about this subject to really entertain it too much. Most people just pay attention to zodiacs when they see a meme about which signs have an attitude problem or which signs are the best kisser. My birthday is in September and I am a Virgo. The only time I cared about being a Virgo was when I realized it must be good because Beyonce is one too.
Other than that, I do not really pay attention to this stuff. One of my friends on Facebook shared an article titled “What You Were Supposed To Learn Between 2016 And 2018, Based On Your Zodiac Sign.” The person that shared the article stated that it was accurate for them and another close friend of mines also commented sharing that it was accurate for them too. So I decide to click on the link.
I read my boyfriend and 2 best friend’s zodiac sign section first. They are all Sagittariuses. It doesn't fit them at all. I even texted it to one of my friends and she said it didn’t fit her either. So I’m not tripping.
Then I go to Virgo…
The article breaks down what your sign should have learned by year (2016, 2017, and 2018). Let me break mine down for you.
2016
“You were supposed to cut loose ends. This was the year that you had to come face to face with what wasn’t working in your life – lest it be forcefully removed from you first.”
Right on! That was an interesting year for me. It was the year that I changed my major and the year I quit my first job.
I came to the University of Michigan, wanting to be premed, have a Biomolecular Science major. My first semester, Fall 2014, I got a C- in my General Chem class. I never had a C- in my life. I should have known to drop it when everyone else did. But I stuck with it because I am not a quitter. I can get through anything. In the winter of 2015, I took a break from science because that C- was too much for me and I decided to embark on an Intensive Spanish class that was 8 credits (class 4 days a week, eat lunch with your professors, multiple part test, and tears). Then I decided to stay in the summer so I can take Spanish and science courses because I felt I was behind all of my other premed peers that had science credits when they came to college. I took Physics and got a C+, Spanish with an A, a Math course with an A- and my Chemistry lab with a B. At this point I felt like I could redeem myself and maybe retake that Chemistry class next summer term. I came back Fall 2015 and took another 8 credit Intensive Spanish class (passing it) and Biology, receiving a D+. I thought I already hit rock bottom Freshman year, but apparently not. That winter break I decided to change my life. I switched majors, dropped the learning community I was in (so I would no longer take Intensive Spanish classes) and gave up being a MD.
I stated earlier that I wasn’t a quitter. I’m not sure if I would call it quitting. I most certainly did pivot my direction and approach.
Biomolecular Science and these Spanish classes were not working with my life. I decided to change my major to Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN). It was still science based, allowing me to go to medical school if I took extra classes, and would help me get a better understanding of the human mind. I did not switch immediately. I sat in a room with all of the majors and minors I was interested in on a whiteboard. I decided on BCN major with a Community Action and Social Change (CASC) minor and Entrepreneurship minor. In the winter of 2016, I did the prerequisites for my new major and minors and declared them during the summer time. I just needed a fresh start and I felt really good about the new titles I picked up. It was the first time I felt passionate about what I was going to do in college. Passionate because it was my own decision. I felt like I was going to be a medical doctor to please family members. I did not know what I wanted to do with my new major, but I did know it felt right.
2017
“You were supposed to pursue a new dream. This was the year that you embarked on a new, long-awaited adventure, whether it was a new relationship, the next level of your career, or perhaps even travel. This was the year in which you were supposed to take risks, and see firsthand what works and what doesn’t for your life.”
January 2017 is when I first registered for independent research credits. I actually found a lab I was interested in around October or November of 2016. I could not register for the credits then because it was too late, so I volunteered in the lab until the next term. Before switching majors I really did not know what research was. My concept of research was chemistry beakers. I feel like I had to know what research was to an extent. I was a subject in a research project as a teen through my summer job. Even then the idea of research in terms of psychology, education, and social work hadn’t clicked. Also in the winter of 2017, I got involved in a lot of community-engagement courses. These were classes where I went to Detroit to work with Latino teens on their college readiness and homework. I also had a class where I went to an Ypsilanti community center where I worked with Black youth on literacy, storytelling, and emotion/trauma processing.
This is the year where I REALLY got into research. I work in the lab that looks at Latino adolescents, resilience, community violence, sense of belonging, and other factors. This is the lab that I have been in for the longest and the lab that I am doing my honors thesis with. The people in this lab are phenomenal and shaped the way I look at the world.
After winter term, in the summer, I did many things. I study abroad in Barcelona, I visited Chicago for the first time with my boyfriend, I took the GRE, I worked in 3 labs, took classes, and worked at one of my jobs. This included the lab I was already in and 2 labs that were lead by my professors from Winter 2017 semester. One lab related to Black representation in the media and the other related to Latina and Black girls’ relationship with their mom, puberty, and thoughts of identity. That was the businesses summer I ever experienced. Traveling and working in labs really set the tone for my future and made me grow. That summer I started my proposal for my honors thesis and started planning for what graduate schools I would apply to. I also was accepted into the #1 Social Work program in the nation at the University of Michigan.
My Fall semester for 2017 was just as busy as my summer of 2017. I took another community-engagement class where I worked with recently incarcerated adults, I worked at my regular job, I took my classes, I became the President of National Council of Negro Women at the University of Michigan, and I applied to PhD Programs. All of the things I did this year set me up for the huge changes that will come next year (graduation and going to graduate school).
2018
“You are supposed to make some firm decisions. After the past two years of an intense tug of war between what you think should be working and what you know isn’t, this is the year to ride or die. You will either start to soar and thrive like you never have before, or come to terms with having tried something new, even if it wasn’t supposed to be forever.”
This is the year that I interview for graduate school, pick which one to go to, graduate, move, and have my first semester in a PhD Program.
I still don’t really rock with zodiac signs, but hey, I’ll take the W while I can. Does your zodiac sign match what you have been going through? Do you believe in Zodiac signs? Are you a virgo like Beyonce and myself? Have you gone through similar pivots? Write a comment!