Psychology: Fat Chance By Lesléa Newman

My initial impression of psychology and mental health was negative. Growing up in Mercedes, Texas, a suburban city in the Rio Grande Valley, I grew up around traditional Mexican American culture, including our beliefs and values. These values instill the importance of family, respect, and being a hard worker to provide for and follow their family's expectations. Often this hard-working and cultural expectation mentality results in many Hispanics overlooking their mental health and dismissing signs of mental health decline, viewing signs of mental health problems as indications of "weakness" or being "crazy." As a result, many Hispanics suppress negative feelings or use other harmful methods, such as drugs and alcohol, to cope with their mental

"Fat Chance" follows a 13-year-old Judy who participates in bulimic eating habits to lose weight like a popular skinny girl in her grade, entailing the harmful reality of eating disorders. After finishing “Fat Chance,” I looked up what an eating disorder was. Quickly I delved into learning about mental disorders and their different symptoms and etiology, sparking my passion for psychopathology. Although I found mental disorders interesting, I quickly realized the severity and distress these disorders have on people, motivating me to pursue a career in psychology to improve the quality of life of individuals struggling with mental

Earning a master's in Clinical Psychology at The University of Texas at San Antonio is an excellent opportunity to improve my research abilities to become a competitive applicant when I begin to apply to Ph.D. programs in Clinical Psychology and be a competent researcher throughout my academic and professional