How I became a scientist: Part One

Unlike many of my colleagues, I had no plans to be a scientist when I grew up. In fact, it was the furthest thing from my mind. I wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice or at the very least an attorney specializing in criminal law. Clarence Darrow was a hero of mine as a child. Sometimes, however, life takes you on a different journey than the one you had planned. It all started for me in high school. I dropped out of my first chemistry class as a Sopmore because I though it was way too boring, but decided to take it as a Junior. My teacher was excellent for this second class. Her name was Ms. Ball and she had been an industrial chemist with her Master's degree for several years before "retiring" to become a high school teacher. She was great. In her class, I started to become really interested in chemistry and as a result took a second year of it, the advanced course, as a Senior. I still had no intentions of becoming a scientist though.
When I went to college, I had to pick a major and since Pre-Law didn't exist, I decided to continue on in Chemistry. I really thought that it was my last chance to learn this subject before going on to Law School. Boy was I wrong. In my Junior year of college, I volunteered for a Victim's Witness program that was run out of the District Attorney's office so that I could get a first hand look at the law. I found that I didn't really like what I saw, a lot of abused women, the frustrations of not being able to prosecute offenders because the victim's were so enmeshed with their abusers, and in general a very emotionally taxing life that I wasn't sure I wanted. This experience completely changed my perspective on becoming a criminal attorney. I was at a complete loss. This was my life plan. Without it, I felt like I was floundering. I had no clue what to do with myself. At about this time, several of my professors in the Chemistry Department started to encourage me to go to Graduate School in Chemistry. I had done quite well in all of my classes and had an aptitude for science. The best part, from my point of view as a student with not much money, was that graduate school would be free. So, I decided to apply for chemistry programs and began my journey towards becoming a scientist.