More Than Housewife 101

Two years ago, I started working on my bachelor's degree in Marriage and Family Studies (MFS). I was 30 years old. It took that long for me to figure out what I was passionate about. It ended up being a good thing, though, that I delayed my education for a while because I wouldn't have chosen correctly back in my twenties. I earned my AS and never transferred to a university because A) after praying about it, it didn't feel right and B) I didn't have a clear path of study. I knew I was interested in psychology and the social sciences, but I didn't have any direction.

I didn't realize it then, but I've always been fascinated by familial relationships - I just didn't identify it as an "interest." It's never been uncommon for me to ask my friends things like, "So... what do you and your husband fight about?" It's a bizarre question, I know, but I don't ask it for gossip fodder. I ask it because I'm genuinely curious about family conflict and how it is presented and resolved. I used to think I was just weird, but then one of my instructors described herself as being "obsessed with families." She said she has always loved watching families and learning how they function. I felt like she took the words right out of my mouth. I've observed families my whole life and have always been fascinated by them, so when I stumbled across the MFS program at BYU-I, there was no question - I was in - and when I met that particular instructor, I knew I had found my people! 

My degree has a bit of a stigma - people act like it's a professional wife degree, so as soon as I state that I'm in MFS, people tend to write me off immediately, as if it's not a "real" degree. That's why I'm writing this post. I can't claim my program won't make me a better wife, but it's not a "homemaker" degree or a field of study that oppresses women. Let me tell you what it really is (because it's fantastic!)

My degree covers the obvious. Marriage, divorce, communication, conflict resolution. 

It covers the gritty. Abuse, infidelity, addiction, perinatal loss, grief, anxiety, sexual education.

We learn about theory. Systems theory, social exchange theory, symbolic interactionism, feminism.

There are courses on development. Childhood, adolescent, and lifespan. 

There's parenting. 

Money management. 

Public speaking. 

Psychology.

Social science statistics.

Research methods.

I thoroughly enjoy the breadth of topics I get to learn about in school, and my degree touches on so many areas that I love. In fact, many of the things I have studied in school are things I enjoyed studying in my leisure time. Through school, I get my psychology fix, and I get to learn all about family. My favorite class from high school was AP psychology, and my favorite class from college has been family theory. Those two together are like sweet nectar to me!

Hopefully that gives you a better idea of what I've been working on these past two years. It's so much more than Housewife 101.