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 :)

The Unknown Path in the Journey

I am happy to be feeling better, I have needed the energy because I needed to facilitate a group for class this week as well as write two large papers. I have gotten through this week and come out alive :)

Not much has changed in regard to my internship situation. My field director has been unsuccessful in finding a placement for me as no agency wants a student mid-semester. This semester has really not turned out as I've hoped but what can I do-I just had to do something with my previous placement and before I knew it, it dissolved before me. I am praying that something will open up for the spring. I will only be taking four classes at 9 credits so I can handle heavy hours in a field placement if it happens. Although it's still iffy if that could happen. My final option is a summer placement-12-15 weeks....meaning there goes my summer and hopes and plans of moving outta this area :( and increasing my anxieties regarding finding a job. It's not just my own wants to be outta this area, it's the aspect that I finally have the opportunity to live near my biological family---an opportunity that has not been possible since I moved outta the area when I was twelve. So the future right now is in limbo. I am no longer losing sleep over it though because I did what I had to do and I have communicated what I want. I've advocated and now I have to wait.

I also had a conversation with my advisor over my inhibitions with participating in class. I stray away from the norm as a social worker in that I am introvert. While I love helping people, putting myself out there is hard. It's hard for me to speak up in classes, it's hard for me to form on the spot stories related to class materials, it's hard for me to feel confident academically and professionally and I constantly compare to other people and feel I come short when it comes to having the professional social worker status. I know that a lot of this is in my head and is not good for getting me anywhere good if I don't let it go and stop thinking so much about what others think. I want to do my best, I don't want to stand out as the one who never talks. I feel like I missed that stage of development of being involved in class because I was dealing with just trying to survive with my chaotic home life throughout my childhood and adolescence. So now I have to work harder. It's a lot to process sometimes and at the end of the day I am still exhausted even if I am not in a placement right now. But perhaps all this is happening for a reason. I have faith and hope that it will turn out for the best in the end.

the falling leaves...

Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees outside our apartment this past week. I was hoping to get out and enjoy a nice walk but have been sick with the flu for the past week and a half. Swine flu? Perhaps... this flu was pretty intense and all I could do was rest and stay in bed. Now I have meetings and emails to do regarding my internship and three papers that are demanding to be written. I am supposed to facilitate a group in class tomorrow and do an oral presentation for another class---and I am nowhere near prepared because I am just starting to feel better. So I am stressed and overwhelmed and don't know where to where to start. I keep on thinking about May and pray that I can get everything I need to done by then and have a better handle on the future. Hopefully a few things can sort themselves out this week and I can rest a bit easier. Until next time...