My first semester at Grad School (September-December) was not that bad, it was mostly life as normal being able to go out, hang with friends and so on, then second semester hit (January-May and add in an internship) life went up in flames. In the beginning of my internship I was very, would honestly go as far as incredibly stressed out because 1) I have never been an intern before 2) I was in a strongly educational based agency and did no and still don't know much about the school system and 3) they had now MSW on site and did not know what a social workers job even was. So it was very stressful for me for many reason.
Throughout the semester I had more than one emotional breakdown on the sales floor (mind you I would a at grocery store in customer service) ( also remember I was in school 2 full days a week from 9am-8:30pm, interning 20 hours a week, and averaged close to 25 hours a week at work most of the time). I also had a falling out with my best friend of 10 years during this time as well. I told you my life when up in flames. My friends Dana and Becky at work were pretty much my saving graces all semester. They picked me up when I was down, they dried my tears, listened to my frustrations (which let's face it were just bitch-capades!), they encouraged me to keep going even when I truly wanted to throw in the towel, but most of all, when shit hit the fan with me they didn't up and leave me to figure this all out by myself. All my life people have left and part of me pushes them away to see if they really will leave. But Becky and Dana are two of the best friends I could ever have. My life was crazy town. I barely had time to myself let alone time for friends and Dana understood and didn't get mad about it (why the falling out between my and the 10 year bestie happened). Every free moment or chunk of time I had I made sure to devote to someone to try and make the rounds and I thank God she understood. Next year my life will be another year of crazy (interning 25 hours a week, class 2 days, and work) and I have no idea how I'm going to make it all work but I am so lucky that I have friends that understand that this craziness is only a temporary thing. They know it's not intentional they get that Grad School is intense for me and they work with me when it comes to spending time with them. School is my number one priority and as much as I do not want to put my friends in the back seat that's sometimes where they have to sit and I love that they embrace it, I love that they don't take it to heart, and I love that even though my life was up in flames last semester I learned who my real friends are. I hate that I lost a friend of 10 years over simply having priorities but she clearly was not a friend.
As an MSW Grad Student sometime things in our lives have to take a backseat, my social life pretty much to a back seat about 25 cars behind me. Know that's it's okay and only temporary but remember when it comes to friends and the friends you want to keep by your side, remember to make time for them. Even if it's a 10 minute conversation that's time set aside for them, time that they need as well as time that you need. My time was movie dates after night class on Wednesday because Thursdays was my one day to sleep in a little late so I designated that time to Dana. We also work the same shift at night so we would try and go on break together. Set aside time. My other friend every time I tried to hang out with her always made up lies so I have that time to Dana and her and I have become better friends because of it. As social workers we know that self-care is important. If you don't have time MAKE TIME. You have an hour or two to spare somewhere USE IT! You will be incredibly glad you did trust me.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Friday, August 1, 2014
Where dreams come true
Almost daily people ask me what I want to do when I am all done with school. I tell them that my ultimate goal is to work at St. Jude's and they ask me why. Well here is why:
I want to work at St. Jude's because no family that goes there ever receives a bill for their stay at St. Jude's. This hospital's base is social work. They believe that when a child comes here the main focus should be recovery, which is why the hospital is 100% run on donations and grants. I would be working there and helping families get the most out of their stay at St. Jude's and making sure that recovery is the only thing on their mind. It takes 1.9 Million dollars to run St. Jude's for a day. A DAY! No family there ever pays for treatment, stay, housing, or food. Whatever is not covered by insurance the hospital pays.
Working at St. Jude's means being a part of a network that truly cares for everyone that walks through their doors. They are at the top for children's research and are making new discoveries and advances in child medicine every day. I would wake up and go to work and know that those who donate (myself included) are paying for my salary because they believe in the work that not only I would be doing but they believe in St. Jude's as a whole. I would wake up every morning wanting to spend my days in the hospital, wanting to help families, and seeing those children get better.
A lot of people say that Disney is where the magic happens. They are wrong St. Jude's is where the magic happens. I donate more money to St. Jude's every year than I can honestly afford to donate, but I do it because those children need our help, they have hardly gotten to live life and this is their last chance at making it. I donate because I believe. I always make it work so I give what I can every chance I get. Please donate! It's the best money you could ever give because it literally goes straight to the children so they can focus completely on recovery and do not have to worry about any cost.
That folks is why I want to work at St. Jude's because it is so social work based, it is an incredible institution, it's network of donors is unbelievably generous, and it touches the hearts of so many people. St. Jude's goes out of their way to give their patients everything they could possibly need or even want. I toured the hospital back in June and I wanted to cry throughout the entire thing because I could not believe how selfless the entire St. Jude's network is. They're one and only concern is the children in their hospital and they do everything in their power to provide for them.
It will be a long journey getting there, but it will be so worth it the day I can say I work for St. Jude Children's and Research Hospital. There is no better dream than this one. There is nothing I want more than this dream right here.
I want to work at St. Jude's because no family that goes there ever receives a bill for their stay at St. Jude's. This hospital's base is social work. They believe that when a child comes here the main focus should be recovery, which is why the hospital is 100% run on donations and grants. I would be working there and helping families get the most out of their stay at St. Jude's and making sure that recovery is the only thing on their mind. It takes 1.9 Million dollars to run St. Jude's for a day. A DAY! No family there ever pays for treatment, stay, housing, or food. Whatever is not covered by insurance the hospital pays.
Working at St. Jude's means being a part of a network that truly cares for everyone that walks through their doors. They are at the top for children's research and are making new discoveries and advances in child medicine every day. I would wake up and go to work and know that those who donate (myself included) are paying for my salary because they believe in the work that not only I would be doing but they believe in St. Jude's as a whole. I would wake up every morning wanting to spend my days in the hospital, wanting to help families, and seeing those children get better.
A lot of people say that Disney is where the magic happens. They are wrong St. Jude's is where the magic happens. I donate more money to St. Jude's every year than I can honestly afford to donate, but I do it because those children need our help, they have hardly gotten to live life and this is their last chance at making it. I donate because I believe. I always make it work so I give what I can every chance I get. Please donate! It's the best money you could ever give because it literally goes straight to the children so they can focus completely on recovery and do not have to worry about any cost.
That folks is why I want to work at St. Jude's because it is so social work based, it is an incredible institution, it's network of donors is unbelievably generous, and it touches the hearts of so many people. St. Jude's goes out of their way to give their patients everything they could possibly need or even want. I toured the hospital back in June and I wanted to cry throughout the entire thing because I could not believe how selfless the entire St. Jude's network is. They're one and only concern is the children in their hospital and they do everything in their power to provide for them.
It will be a long journey getting there, but it will be so worth it the day I can say I work for St. Jude Children's and Research Hospital. There is no better dream than this one. There is nothing I want more than this dream right here.
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