What?

Here at BYU one of the first things to come up in any conversation is this:

"What are you studying/What's your major?"

(right after these, of course: "What's your name?" and "Where are you from?")

Though I've been posed with this question countless times, and I'm graduating in a couple of months (yay!), I still haven't really figured out what to say.

The real name for my major is Communication Disorders. As undergraduates, we are all trained together, and then at the graduate level we will split off into either Speech-Language Pathology, or Audiology.

And what do those terms even mean? If you really care, please read here.



But when someone asks me this, there's usually not time to refer them to a handy catalog definition. So I'm stuck.

If I say Communication Disorders (the new official name for it here at BYU), I get "Oh! Is that like Communications?" No.

If I say Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (the old official name for it here at BYU), I get a blank stare or a nod (pretending they get it. but really still clueless...)

If I say just Speech-Pathology (the term most MS students here use), I feel bad for two reasons:
1. I feel as if I'm 'posing' as a graduate student, though I'm definitely not one...yet. (hopefully).
2. I feel as if I've been cheated by using a name that does not mention the hours and hours I've spent learning basic audiology and child language acquisition.


Sheesh! So confusing. And this doesn't even include the many other variations on the name I came across when applying to Master's programs.

Sometimes I even have a hard time explaining it, because it covers such a variety of subjects.

Anyway, the point is this: I love what I'm learning! (whatever the heck it is)
:) I know, I'm a nerd. But I think it's a good sign if I'm still fascinated by it....right?