I find it humorous when people try to compare their one credit Kinesiology course to the actual major of Kinesiology. But rest assured, Kinesiology is no joke. In order to graduate with a degree in Kinesiology it requires a lot of dedication and studying from sources that often is simply just not fun. Sources include: the courses required, the textbooks needed for those courses, scholarly articles, etc. Not only does Kinesiology require the prerequisite courses but you must complete the core courses required for graduation by Michigan State University (MSU). That mix, as hard as it will make you're life due to an overload of work, helps one in the Kinesiology major become more diverse in all fields of education. Developing this blog which I have produced has taught me a lot of valuable information about both requirements, both physically and mentally, that are essential in order to become successful in the field of Kinesiology.
When I refer to the mental requirements that are essential to success I am referring to what some would term “street smarts”. Now please do not misunderstand, being so called “book smart” is highly essential to this field as I will touch on this later. If you read my blog posts titled “Medical Vs. Social Concepts” and "Practicing My Knowledge", those are more of the “street smarts” I was referring too. For example, in my “Medical Vs. Social Concepts” post, one could not have produced a post like that, not too gloat, without having an understanding of societal awareness, a desire for equality, fighting societal norms, and just having emotion for your fellow human.
It is the desire to help people in need that keeps me motivated. This desire helps me keep focus through all of the tough requirements in the hopes that one day I will reach my goal of becoming a physical therapist.
If you are thinking to yourself that you want to become a Kinesiology major just for to the money involved, which is a lot if you read my post titled “The Money In Being A Doctor”, then my advice to you would be to simply not consider a Kinesiology major. To me, especially after conducting this blog for the past couple of months, in order to be successful in this field of study you MUST have the desire to help your fellow man (and woman, sorry that’s just how the phrase goes). Without this desire it may even be impossible to make it through all of the difficult courses required. Personally I plan on using my knowledge of physical therapy by taking mission trips to parts of the world that do not offer quality physical therapy. I will do this in with the hope to help cure indigent people of their injuries throughout the world.
Now back to being so-called “book smart”. The amount of knowledge that I have been required to learn (keep in mind I'm only through my sophomore year) and memorize for a passing grade in some of my courses has been OUTRAGEOUS!!! No you do not need to be a genetically born bookworm, but you do need to work very, very, very hard in order to grasp the information thrown at you. The courses I have already completed (required for all Kinesiology majors) include: chemistry, the foundations of Kinesiology, biology, and physiology. Just as a warning, watch out for physiology. The courses I just told you about are not even half of the science/medical courses required to graduate with this prestigious degree.
This summer I will be taking Physics online, yay…and I plan on taking Chemistry II, Anatomy, Physics II , and higher level biology by the end of the next school year. All of these courses require tons of work and this blog has helped me realize that I can no longer get by simply cramming hours of studying in before these exams, check out my post titled the “B.S Method". Instead you must actually take this knowledge to heart and set aside time to learn the material verses trying to simply regurgitate it for you're upcoming exam.
If this post has made you second-guess your decision on choosing the major of Kinesiology, then I have succeeded in my goal. My goal is to warn my fellow peers that Kinesiology is no joke. The major attracts students who will strive to be the leaders in the fields of medicine, fitness, and therapy. I would be sad if one picked this major with out knowing the true difficulty involved. It would also be upsetting if one were to pursue a profession related to Kinesiology simply for the money. To me, becoming a professional in the field of Kinesiology is to gain information that will one day help you heal the injuries, illnesses, disorders, and plethora other problems that face the human body.
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