A2 Choices

Following the results of my AS results. I have decided to carry forward three of my four subjects. These now are: Biology, Psychology and German.

I adore Biology, science has always been a passion but biology is so much more than just observing how things are, it's understanding how things work and then using our problem-solving skills to apply this knowledge to our own lives. For the majority of people that means knowing how what they eat affects their bodies or how to get the best out of exercise. For me, this subject will provide me with a basis for which I can develop my biological knowledge in a more medical direction and therefore use to help other people, which is always something I strive to do.

Psychology is fascinating, it's not at all what I expected it to be as a subject. I believed it would concern the brain and how mechanisms within the brain ultimately come together to create thoughts and behaviours, how wrong I was. I have learnt about the many different factors which influence behaviour aside from genes and physiological mechanisms using evolutionary, cognitive, bahvioural and psychodynamic approaches. I have learnt how to evaluate methodology including analysing the ethics and validity of a study. I have learnt how to discuss major debates on a topic such as nature vs Nurture, Determinism vs Free will and Nomothetic vs Ideographic. I love the range of material that we cover and am learning something new and exciting every lesson. I have already been using the knowledge I learn in class to help me analyse material in everyday life. To name just a few of these situations: I find it easier to determine how generalisable studies or information I read about are or understand and consider how ethics plays into real-life situations.

I also believe that language abilities are very important to society, in fact they are essential. Languages are how we communicate with others and having at the very least basic skills in a language different to one's own is incredibly beneficial to that individual. There are the obvious advantages: communicating and conversing with people of different nationalities or making life easier when you go on holiday. However I know that taking a modern foreign language such as German to A-level has altered the way I think. German is a very structured and logical language and in using this language my thoughts also become more logical, structured and direct. It can be difficult to translate from English to German and frequently one has to use a lot of English skills in order to find a method with which a sentence can be formed in German. This is something which will give me an advantage following education, I believe. 

I know these subjects may only be another step in my journey through education, but they are my passion and could not imagine a life in which I would not hugely benefit from what they teach me.