Interestingly, the real-life university of Bremen recently announced they're going to stop offering psychology as a subject, although it is the very one that is most popular with students to enrol for. The official reason is of course lack of personnel, capacity, and all the other usual excuses, but it is common knowledge that the inoffical reason may well be psychology's reputation of attracting a lot of students that just want a cheap and easy springboard into high society - essentially like our dear Sophie. It's no accident I chose psychology for her, although that was also because it is a subject about which I happen to know a bit myself, in case I need to write an authentic dialogue between Sophie and one of her professors or fellow students (you may recall that one of her professors has already made an appearance in the comic). Psychology plays only a very small role in a teacher's curriculum these days - which some older teachers think is a huge mistake. And so do I! I had few looks at it on my own initiative, and I found it to be rather useful and rewarding, providing you pick the right branches and are prepared to do some extensive reading of outrageously dry literature. And this in turn means sieving out loads of what indeed cannot be called anything but cerebral diarrhoea. Let's not be too harsh on Sophie, though. Like many girls her age - I mean young women. Sorry! - she soon had to find she's just not unscrupulous enough, so she actually works really hard and takes pride in her good grades; so much so that one is tempted to think she doesn't just want to make a good impression but takes a genuine interest. As a matter of fact, nobody can say for sure what really motivates her now, including herself. It's something you can observe at universities all the time, and it supports what I'd suspected for a long time: liking something is in fact often a matter of wanting to like it (and vice versa). By the way, I know by now that this is indeed a widely accepted theory in psychology. ;)
Anyway, if Bremen's university administration remains adamant, Sophie shall perhaps have to upgrade to a full-time witch apprentice. I've been toying with that idea every now and then, although I have just as many good reasons for her to keep on studying. Well, just wait and see…
In the meantime, I send my best regards to the real-life psychology students and fervently hope their protests meet with success. Now don't get me wrong: I'm all grateful that they at least keep Plattdütsch literature. Yet, Bremen university has already shut down far too many departments for its own good, and I do hope they come to their senses.
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