I'm proud of myself. I actually tracked my Thanksgiving meal to the best of my ability today. I wrote it down as I ate it so I wouldn't have to try to remember it and accidentally forget something. My total for the day came to about 3308 calories-rounding up. It wasn't about staying within range today. It was about maintaining the habit of writing everything down. I also exercised today. I honestly hadn't been planning on it, but I ended up going on three walks today. I walked with my dad to the park, then I walked with Adam to his parents house, and then I had a little freak out and ended up going for a one hour walk with Adam.
The only thing I could have done better was to drink more water.

I actually got quite upset today. I pretty much got ganged up on regarding my major. I was talking about how I wanted to do social work, and how I feel (and I do) that it's what I'm meant to do. I was being asked about the monetary return, and of course the "you're going to be SOOOO POOR" thing came up.

Basically, I was told that I should have chosen a major that will turn out to be more lucrative and that there are plenty of sociology majors out there who are stuck working management jobs who regret studying sociology. Maybe they had such crappy luck with it because they didn't go beyond a Baccalaureate degree. The thing is, with a degree like sociology, you can't just get a four-year degree, and then expect to work in the field. You actually have to continue and narrow your study even further. In my case, I plan on earning a Master's in Social Work, and then becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Sure, I won't make millions, and I'll be paying school debt for a while, but I'll at least enjoy my job! They were trying to convince me that my job is going to suck because "I'll be working with the lowest of the low" in society...wow that's totally not a snobby way to look at that at all! Geez. It's just disgusting how my own family can doubt me so much. And the thing is, it's not just with school. It's with weight loss, and pretty much any decision I make. My finances and the future of my finances are none of their business and the reality is I'm going to use this anger as fuel to keep going.

Sure, I could change majors. Sure, there's probably other stuff I'd be good at, but I feel deep within my heart that some form of social work is my calling. They were telling me that I could still help people without getting the degree, and yes that's true, but to truly make an impact on real people, I need to be licensed, so that's what I plan to do. I am just meant to do it. I remember in fourth grade, I told my best friend at the time that I wanted to be a school counselor. She laughed in my face.

I think that part that pi$$ed me off the most is the fact that they talk to me about it as though I haven't thought about the potential repercussions. I'm not just answering some dumb beauty pageant question with "I just want to help people". I'm not naive. I know that there will be days when I will hate my job, and there will be days that I'll be frustrated with it. The reality is, when going into further education, at some point, one MUST commit to something. If I was going to get a 'throw away degree' (which is what they were making my major seem like) I would have gotten it in art, or music, not sociology. What also pi$$ed me off about that whole conversation was the fact that I'm getting really good grades, and my teachers are already willing to write letters of recommendation for me, and then my own family-whom of which have little to no knowledge on the subject of sociology, is basically making me feel like I'm wasting my time.
My little brother-who's 19 years old, seems to think that he's just going to get into med school, and then magically make $90,000 a year. That's hilarious!

The doubts flow in with my goal for fitness and my goals for education. I guess no matter what I try to accomplish, there will always be haters. My answer to them is just going to be "we'll see...". I'm over the negativity, and I'm SO proud of myself because instead of eating MORE delicious food, I actually went for a walk instead. And now I'm going to go on another one.

Happy thanksgiving everyone. If anything, I have come to the conclusion that I am definitely in the right place doing the best thing for me.