Still I blog

If anyone stumbles across thing thing---I still blog. I have returned to my xanga http://sarahflorida1085.xanga.com/ where I originally blogged to do all of my blogging which includes things in the social work field as well as things personally about me. Thanks for reading and come find me there :).

The End of The Beginning of Something Wonderful

Wow...yes, wow!

Yesterday was my last grad class...though I still have a field sem class for my internship this summer, this is technically the last class of my graduate school career. I don't have to pound out papers anymore, I don't have to wonder how I am going to get done all the work, I don't have to stress about school. It's just about over. Yesterday, we talked about termination. We talked about our experience in grad school-and I got really, really sad. Maybe it is because this semester has been so painful, not in terms of school but in terms of life. Here are these wonderful people I met and shared many classes with. People that were so different from me, yet have shared my passion for helping people. And now we are all going our separate ways. Maybe because so many people have come and gone so frequently in my life that makes this ending harder. I know I need to work on being able to end things better. For now, writing is how I cope though. It's easier for me to write when the emotions are strong. It's easier to project my true feelings through writing because as I showed yesterday, orally I can only say so much. There is so much I left out when I spoke in class that I wanted to say about this whole experience, but oh well, I will continue to write about it to process it and maybe that will help.

I can really say that I didn't know much of who I was when I started the program, and I still feel that way every now and then, but what I do know now is that now I have a purpose in my life at this time and that is to be a social worker. I know that this is the profession for me. I know that I understand pain and I understand that there can be healing and I know that people need support and as a social worker I help to empower people who have had rough times. I hope to use the tools I have gained to reach people and touch them, if only for a short period of time with the compassion that is innate in me. I know I will see horrible things in this field, I know people will let me down but it is the positive stories I will cling to. It is the people who willingly accept the help and want to change that will bring me joy. I will be looking for little things everyday to keep my passion for the field going. I take time outside of my career to enjoy life-to restore community with my biological family and build relationships with new friends. Most importantly, I will look to God and the example of Jesus to renew and continually inspire me.

On a side note, now that I am done with all those papers, I am sitting here thinking I am not being productive enough. Haha! I need to relax and enjoy this moment...and sleep-I am very exhausted from all that driving!

In just a little over a week, the celebration of this accomplishment will come, then I will revisit these emotions all over again and most likely, you will hear about them :D.

It's been a long road but I made it!

In just a short time I will be able to put MSW to this name of mine...yay!

Life is complicated, but it is beautiful.

social action in within all of us

I will not let the immaturity of some change the fact that I am for social justice for those who are oppressed in this country, I as a social worker will advocate for the good of others as I was trained to do so and as my passion to help others live better lives drives me to. Despite harsh opinions, derogatory language, and pop lingo against any positive reform and policy change, the bitter truth remains that there are hurting people out there-a lot of them. These are the people who cannot fight for themselves. They are victims of a society who has tried to ignore them, a society who has lacked compassion. We need not wait for another tragedy to hit before we act. It is time to rise up and fight for the good of others. It is time to help others as we are able. It is time to spread love as Jesus did. It is time to stop judging, stop the name calling, stop the hated, and change for the better. Love can cover a multitude of sins. Come on people, lets be united, lets stand up and grow up. Let the beauty rise from the ashes. Let's stop living for ourselves and unite.

What I Am Looking Forward to In 2010

I am most looking foward to finishing school FOREVER! I will be graduating in May of this year with my Master's in Social Work. As I have written a lot about my experience on here, I am well due to be finished with school. I have been pursuing a higher education since 2005, first completing my BA in Psychology in May 2008 and I will be officially done in August of this year upon completing my internship practicum in my advanced placement as a Social Work. It is a big deal to me because I have come a long ways. I have every right to look forward to a degree that can benefit me, but is also going to be used towards helping others find hope, resources, and motivation to change their lives for the better. Through the compassion and knowledge I use to help others, I pray for my efforts as a Social Worker to be effective and beneficial to this society in need.

Last week of the semester :)

This is the last week of the semester for me, one paper and three classes to go-yep I didn't get one done yet that I wanted to last week but it's okay, I have some great professors who understand we are not all paper writing machines. So I am at the end of the road for this semester almost :) I am looking forward to doing some reading, enjoying some snow, celebrating Christmas, writing, cooking, maybe putting a few hours in doing housekeeping on my campus to earn some much needed $$$, and watching my neglected movie collection for this break.

How is your week going so far?

some insights of being in the field

The topic of burnout was brought up in my mental health multidimensional assessment class last week. It was a very thought provoking discussion as many of my classmates shared that they had been experiencing the stresses of being in the field in one way or another-feeling exhausted after they left the office because of all the clients they had interacted with, having nightmares, always feeling like they need to be doing something and not being able to relax, or not being able to shut down well and fall asleep at night easily. My classmates were concerned that if they always felt that way, they would easily get burnt out. While some people can compartmentalize their experiences and feelings and leave experiences behind, others mull over experiences and this can affect them longer than necessary. My professor explained that we will be writing a paper next semester on burnout to learn more about this area but something he was taught by a former professor he had was that one needed to learn how to leave the job at the office or they would not be utilizing good self-care long term. His professor states that a good way to do this is to pick a street light or a sign or some other symbolic thing over the course of your drive where you can state that after that point you would not think about the stresses and details of your day at work and think about other things related to your personal life whether it be your family, friends, spirituality, or something you plan to do at home that is non-work related. I think this can be a good exercise to practice in my own life because I have the tendency to analyze things over and over, rather than just letting them go at times I should be relaxing and enjoying life. I am sure that there are more tools I will learn and use as I grow in the field but this is just one tip that I really found useful for my future as a social worker

Do you have anything that you do to debrief after a day in the field so you can relax outside of your professional life or advice for individuals new to the social work field?

Turning Lemons Into Lemonade

So my current goal is to make the most outta life even if I am not completely happy with the way things are. The last thing I want to be doing on a Sunday is sitting on my slowly widening behind all day and write papers---but in May when I get to walk across the stage to get my MSW, it will be worth it. I am very unhappy that I may be forced to have to do my internship all summer long :( but at least I don't have to wait until December to graduate. I have to look at the positive. I have to not worry about how the job market will look for social work positions for those with graduate degrees come summer or fall. I have to find the things to be thankful for even if I feel like all my friends have just walked away from me. I am thankful for:

♦ a boyfriend who supports me & takes care of things around the apartment &helps me out financially
♦ my family in Rhode Island that loves me a great deal more than I ever realized
♦ the understanding staff and professors at Roberts who are finally listening to who I am
♦ how God provides financially
♦ Ikea furniture which makes our dreadfully small apartment tolerable
♦ Wednesday dinners with my MSW girls
♦ encouraging blogs & bloggers
♦ Tim Horton's vanilla smoothies
♦ longs conversations with people I care about
♦ the beauty and memories captured by photos
♦ the fall sunshine

So these are my efforts to turn "lemon" moments into delicious "lemonade" reflections

May you find somethings to be thankful for in the midst of challenging times :)