A CHANGE WILL DO YOU GOOD

Even though this past month may have already been characterized by change, I couldn't help but throw one more change into the mix. I was feeling a little restless when it came to my hair so the other day I decided to take some action on that, and here's the result:

Now, aside from getting employed (hopefully soon), I think I'll hold off on the bigger-scale changes for awhile. It sure makes life fun though. ; )

"YOUTH COMES BUT ONCE IN A LIFETIME" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I am often asked the question of what I intend to do once I am done with graduate school. I realize, and you may have too, that I just started grad. school a mere month ago but as opposed to the undergraduate years I suppose the reality is that most people go into grad. school with a firm goal already in mind, desiring to attain that masters degree so as to continue on in that direction. The truth is, for the most part, I do know what I want to be doing, I'm just not sure in what fashion it will take shape. The program that I'm in is unique in that it does not lead to my being a licensed professional counselor, but rather it provides the core counseling skill-set and equips people to provide counseling in non-traditional counseling environments. My intention upon receiving my masters in human services counseling is to make a career out of working with an outreach ministry/organization where counseling is a component of their focus but being a therapist with a couch for someone to sprawl out on while they recount their childhood is not mandatory. The more concrete details about which ministry/organization, what population of people, etc. that I would work for/with is still up in the air at this point though. Each time I think of a different population that I might want to work with, be it teenagers, the impoverished, those making pregnancy/adoption decisions, or even just everyday people who need a listening ear, I get more uncertain about which direction I want to go in for each group has a piece of my heart. But I'm hoping that through the course of this year I will be able to figure out where the largest chunk of my heart lies, then I'll be able to fully answer that question that people are so fond of asking. As for now though, I can't deny that I'm feeling a tug on my heart to continue in the direction of working with youth (it's just a present thought, we'll see what the final decision ends up being). There's something so special, and yet, in so much need with that age-group. In a day and age where they practically are adults at the age of 13, now, more than ever, these young people are in need of guidance, care, and most importantly, love. In spending time working with both adolescents and children over the years I have vastly seen the importance of being involved in their lives and building some form of connection/relationship with them. They are hoping for someone, anyone, to be invested in them and it makes a world of difference to them during those years to not be going it alone. This reality is nothing new, and it most certainly is not trivial. Both my home church and the church I've started attending hit on the magnitude of this reality within the last couple of months. Although they didn't deliver the exact same message, I found it very impacting, and convicting, that both churches laid out the reality of what the life of today's youth looks like and made appeals that each and every one of us get involved in the life of a young person, whether they are our own (not my own, clearly) or some other youngster you have contact with. Remember the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child"? Well, it pretty much does. But the responsibility extends beyond childhood. The saying should really be "it takes a village to raise a person into adulthood." Even if a child, a teenager has involved parents, or a strong bond with their grandparents, or what have you, they could always stand to have one more person in their life who cares about them, they could always stand to have you in their life. For such a time as this, today's youth are worth investing in. Plus, they are some pretty amazing people. Think about the difference you could make, just think about it, I know I am.

LIFE AS I KNOW IT

Things are coming together around here and my home is actually beginning to look like a true home. After about two weeks of going without some key items, in the last few days I have finally succeeded in acquiring a bed and a couch (thank goodness for craigslist!) and now my next task is to find a dining set. Classes are in full swing and it caught me by surprise that I'm actually enjoying all that it brings with it. And when I say that, I mean that in the sense that I wasn't quite sure if I was over being burnt out by school, but apparently I am, for now. For one of my classes this semester, each week we're to do a video-recorded counseling session with another student infiltrating the techniques we've learned in class. So, after all of one day of being in that class I went into one of those traditional counseling type of rooms (think of one you might see on Dateline or 20/20 or something, complete with a video-camera up in one corner of the room and kid-related items off to the side) and conducted a 20 min. counseling session. It was a little nerve-wracking, not really knowing what I was doing or what to expect but I'm thinking I didn't mess up too bad (and hopefully didn't mess up the 'counselee' either). In other news, in an effort to get involved in stuff around the area I looked into activities through the various cities' parks and recreations and as a result. . . I am now a card-carrying kickball player. Yep, that's right, I've joined an adult, co-ed kickball league and we have a scrimmage game this upcoming Sunday evening. Sadly, I had missed the registration date for the beach flag-football league and kickball was my only other option, but hey, I like the game. . .even if I'm used to playing it either as a kid or with kids, so I'm hoping that these people aren't die-hard kickballers. We'll see. Other than that, I'm just enjoying getting a feel for the area and trying to master the directionally-challenged streets around here, but don't worry I'm on my way to being victorious.

WHEW

There are many instances in life where a deep sigh is necessary, whether it is a sigh of relief, of weariness, or even one to provide a second of respite before tackling yet another task. At the moment, I would classify my sigh as one embodying all of the aforementioned types. A sigh of relief that the long yet spectacular adventure of driving across the country ('visiting' 14 states. . .including Michigan for about 10 minutes by accident) has concluded. A sigh of weariness of being constantly on the go for the last two-plus weeks and adjusting to the various time zone changes along the way. And a sigh providing a brief interlude before getting back to the grindstone to get myself situated here. It's a lot of stuff all at once, exciting and fun, yet also requiring that moment to let myself slow down and take a deep breath and say 'whew.' Once my brain catches up to me again I'll give more detailed descriptions about my going-ons but as for now I'll leave you all with some highlights from these last couple of weeks:

~ my good friend's gorgeous wedding that I got to be a part of

~ being able to see some interesting/landmark sights amidst the wide-open nothing-ness of Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota (not to mention, getting a lovely spattering of bugs across my windshield and entire front portion of my car . . .yuck)


~ seeing Amish people (or so Jane and I think)

~ seeing the Mississippi River for the first time

~ meeting up with my mom, my aunt, and my grandma for dinner in La Crosse, WI (they were there visiting the area where my ancestors came from)

~ sight-seeing in Chicago, by foot and by being a typical tourist and riding a red double-decker tour bus
~ changing time zones in Indiana and not realizing it until we were checking in at our hotel at 9:40 pm. . .but really 10:40 pm, and then trying to find a place that was still serving food so that we could have dinner

~ visiting the campus of the University of Notre Dame . . .and then getting lost trying to get back on the freeway from there, thus leading to our brief stint in Michigan that caught us by surprise

~ driving from Indiana, into Michigan for a couple minutes, through Ohio, through Pennsylvania, and into Maryland all in one day and luckily enough be staying in our nicest hotel of the whole trip:

Wall, South Dakota

v.s.

Hagerstown, Maryland

~ playing the license plate game across the country and seeing all but 3 of the states

~ checking out my new digs. . .it's a great location with nice amenities, I think it'll be perfect

~ sight-seeing in and around Virginia Beach including: hanging out on the beach, strolling on the boardwalk and then riding in a four-person bike with Jane, my mom, my aunt, and my grandma (who were now visiting this area by that time. . .imagine that), visiting Cape Henry (where the first landing of the settlers who established Jamestown took place and where the first U.S. lighthouse was erected, and still stands), driving across the 17.6 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to Virginia's Eastern Shore and then proceeding to have dinner overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, catching the tail-end of the first day of the East Coast Surfing Championships and later attending an event put on for the surfers at a local bar and grill

~ attending my orientation for grad. school . . .and meeting a girl starting law school here who grew up in the Tri-Cities and graduated from UW, small world!

And. . . that's it for now, whew! I start classes on Thursday and in the meantime am going to attempt to set-up camp around here and also try and drink in this stage of my life that's going on in the midst of this whirlwind. I'll let you know how both of those go. ; )

GO EAST YOUNG WOMAN

I still have a few days yet, but I thought that I'd get around to doing this now before it gets even more hectic with all of the prepping (both physically and mentally) I'll be doing in the days to come. Regardless of it not being the actual day that I'm leaving, the fact of the matter is that after months of anticipation, the time has come for me to pack up my things, bid my loved ones farewell, and make my trek across the country to start yet another chapter of my life. It's bittersweet really. So, after a summer of driving this sweet ride around day in and day out:
I'm trading in those wheels to drive this beauty 3,000 miles across the country starting Friday: I've got quite the journey ahead of me, both literally and figuratively. And while I know that I'm going to miss having my friends and family in close proximity, and vice versa (right?), I also consider myself very blessed to have such a great support network which encourages me to chase down my dreams, even if it takes me away from them. Thank you to everyone for being a part of this journey with me! That's it from me here in Gig Harbor, stay tuned for another installment from some other location. . .

THIS IS WORK FOR ME?

Yes, of course I could use as much money as possible at the moment given all the expenses I'm about to incur in my adventure East and I'm not exactly making bank with my current job, but honestly, at the end of the day, to be getting paid to hang out with kids and participate in fun activities that I'd like to do anyways, I'm quite lucky. The days can in fact be long and exhausting but ultimately they are rewarding and that is often a rarity when it comes to work. Through this job I've been given the chance to enter the lives of these teenagers, serving as a friend and mentor (and often feeling like a parent as well -- I'm getting some good practice for later on in life, Lord willing) and sharing in their adventures, some experiencing things for the first time. This experience has reiterated my desire to be invested in people and their lives and excites me all the more to be able to go to school to learn how to do so even more effectively. And in the meantime, as I count down the days until my departure, I'm reveling in the fact that I'm getting paid to go bowling, ride horses on the beach, go hiking, play games, go to theme parks and fun centers, and go camping (for the first time!), among other things. Life is good, crazy in how it works, but good none-the-less.


(here I am slaving away at work on our recent two-night camping trip in the San Juan Islands)