i'm still exhausted
The longer I've waited to write this, the more the words I had to describe my experience have gotten away. I recently decided to go back to school. I stumbled across randomly, and then choose, a low-residency option to get my Master's in Counseling Psychology. The program differs greatly from the typical online program in that every semester requires an intensive 8 day on-site residency, and there's a large amount of actual interaction between peers and faculty.
After a day of flying and a really awkward taxi ride with a surprisingly homophobic cab driver, I arrived at Goddard. I had NO clue what to expect, nothing. It was pitch black and I was handed a room key and told most students would be arriving the following morning. When I woke up, I finally saw the campus that had been only shadows when I arrived the night before. A bit of history: The land that the school resides on what was a "gentleman's farm" in the 1900's. The buildings are incredible; and most are maintained with the historic integrity they once had. It's beautiful, and at the same time a little haunting.
I'm already having trouble paraphrasing and deciding where to go next. The residency itself was a variety of workshops, seminars, and meetings. The overall "goal" of the stay was to get us (new students) acclimated and up to speed with how the program operates. As for tasks, we were expected to have our course contracts and study as a whole plans done by the end of the week. Course contracts are basically our syllabuses which we create and then get approved by whatever mentor we choose to use as a facilitator. If you didn't get the gist, there's a lot of choice involved in the program. There are obviously core courses, state licensing requirements to fulfill, and faculty preferences; so it's not as though I can sing and dance my way through graduate school and end up with a degree at the end. This semester I am taking: 1) Social and Cultural Foundations with a focus in Counseling the Culturally Diverse. 2) The Biological Basis of Behavior with a focus the Biological Basis of Substance Abuse. 3) Human Development with a focus on the development of Sexual Orientation and 4) Ethics & Professional Practice with a focus on Ethical Boundaries. For most of my classes I am doing a standard 30 page APA style paper, but I was able to mix in personal elements and reflective pieces as well as creative components.
It was a week of trying new things. Besides trying Salmon and Kale, I also tried meditation and yoga. I woke up at 6:45 am to go to "Nia" which I can only describe as a sort of dance/yoga/martial arts hybrid. I learned about using movement and expressive arts as part of therapeutic practice. I did a fair amount of both talking and listening (but probably more of the first). I met more new people than I can articulate. I think Jenn became my official partner in crime within the first five minutes I met her. She was such an important part of my entire experience there. We were each others cheerleaders but more than that we were genuinely connected. Even from 2,000+ miles she has checked in with me multiple times since we parted ways and continues to be a source of inspiration. I hope that two years from now we'll be finishing out this program together. I also met a girl who literally lives off of the same street as me (a few blocks down), in Salt Lake. We have a shared love of beer and buffalo wings, and I hope our brief stint in Vermont together translates into an actual friendship here.
I definitely thrive on in a group setting and almost foolishly get very attached to that sense of community. Goddard was a warm lovely bubble to me and I found the real world to be quite harsh upon my return. It's also a hard thing to describe to someone so I've had to process the entire thing internally. I was beyond thrilled to go back to my lovely girlfriend, four-legged babies, and my comfortable bed...but I actually miss Goddard. But just a little.
After a day of flying and a really awkward taxi ride with a surprisingly homophobic cab driver, I arrived at Goddard. I had NO clue what to expect, nothing. It was pitch black and I was handed a room key and told most students would be arriving the following morning. When I woke up, I finally saw the campus that had been only shadows when I arrived the night before. A bit of history: The land that the school resides on what was a "gentleman's farm" in the 1900's. The buildings are incredible; and most are maintained with the historic integrity they once had. It's beautiful, and at the same time a little haunting.
I'm already having trouble paraphrasing and deciding where to go next. The residency itself was a variety of workshops, seminars, and meetings. The overall "goal" of the stay was to get us (new students) acclimated and up to speed with how the program operates. As for tasks, we were expected to have our course contracts and study as a whole plans done by the end of the week. Course contracts are basically our syllabuses which we create and then get approved by whatever mentor we choose to use as a facilitator. If you didn't get the gist, there's a lot of choice involved in the program. There are obviously core courses, state licensing requirements to fulfill, and faculty preferences; so it's not as though I can sing and dance my way through graduate school and end up with a degree at the end. This semester I am taking: 1) Social and Cultural Foundations with a focus in Counseling the Culturally Diverse. 2) The Biological Basis of Behavior with a focus the Biological Basis of Substance Abuse. 3) Human Development with a focus on the development of Sexual Orientation and 4) Ethics & Professional Practice with a focus on Ethical Boundaries. For most of my classes I am doing a standard 30 page APA style paper, but I was able to mix in personal elements and reflective pieces as well as creative components.
It was a week of trying new things. Besides trying Salmon and Kale, I also tried meditation and yoga. I woke up at 6:45 am to go to "Nia" which I can only describe as a sort of dance/yoga/martial arts hybrid. I learned about using movement and expressive arts as part of therapeutic practice. I did a fair amount of both talking and listening (but probably more of the first). I met more new people than I can articulate. I think Jenn became my official partner in crime within the first five minutes I met her. She was such an important part of my entire experience there. We were each others cheerleaders but more than that we were genuinely connected. Even from 2,000+ miles she has checked in with me multiple times since we parted ways and continues to be a source of inspiration. I hope that two years from now we'll be finishing out this program together. I also met a girl who literally lives off of the same street as me (a few blocks down), in Salt Lake. We have a shared love of beer and buffalo wings, and I hope our brief stint in Vermont together translates into an actual friendship here.
I definitely thrive on in a group setting and almost foolishly get very attached to that sense of community. Goddard was a warm lovely bubble to me and I found the real world to be quite harsh upon my return. It's also a hard thing to describe to someone so I've had to process the entire thing internally. I was beyond thrilled to go back to my lovely girlfriend, four-legged babies, and my comfortable bed...but I actually miss Goddard. But just a little.