For posterity
So I figured that since I'm a little more than a month into grad school, I should post a little something for posterity. I know someday I will look back on this entry, as I do with most of my old entries, and I want something to remember my experience by. What could be better than a firsthand account?
You've made it through your first month. You wrote your first paper- the first paper you'd written in 6 years! And you got a great grade. Remember this: It's OK to want to get things right, but it's more than just the grade.
Also, I want to remember what I'm learning. I'm afraid I'm going to forget something really important- like pertaining to ethics and then lose my license (which I don't even have yet, but it's a worry for the future).
I've been reading about various counseling theories- Adler and existentialist theory are the two that are standing out to me right now. I thought I wouldn't enjoy the chapter on existentialism this week. Reading the intro page reminded me of trying to understand it in 11th grade, and I remember feeling like I couldn't quite get a grasp on it. I guess maybe now that I've had some more life experience, and had some "existential angst" so to speak, it makes more sense. I actually can really relate to a lot of the reasoning and questions. It's a lot of the questions, feelings I've felt, and thinking I've done myself, without realizing that there's a whole theory behind what I've been doing!
In class tonight we had to do a workbook exercise and then break up into groups and discuss. It's kind of weird to be telling all this fairly personal stuff to people I just met a month ago. At any rate, one of the questions was regarding an area for personal growth- something we'd like to improve on. I said I'd like to grow in trusting people more. I know that I have grown a lot in this area over the last few years, but there are still things that I tend to hold back. I guess it just takes time and building up relationships, and realizing that I'm OK as my own person, and that I'm becoming more comfortable with myself, and that I shouldn't be afraid or nervous to share it. People will like it, or they won't.
Tonight after class, I started doing some research for one of my upcoming projects, and I found myself getting really excited about the stuff I found. I am looking forward to going back and reading these articles about counseling! I feel like I've been over my head in theoretical stuff, so getting just a glimpse tonight of articles that have been written by counselors in their settings is exciting. It's like the theories have feet. They will get me somewhere, it just takes time. Too bad when I research, I start taking bunny trails and get so distracted! This was true in my undergrad as well. I'd be at the library looking for something, and go off on something completely different. I remember one afternoon just being enamored with old magazine advertisements. I couldn't get enough! Yet I was supposed to be looking up information on Vietnam. Whoops.
At any rate, it's hard in some ways to believe that it's been a month. And maybe in another month, I'll be saying "Alright, when's vacation?"
You've made it through your first month. You wrote your first paper- the first paper you'd written in 6 years! And you got a great grade. Remember this: It's OK to want to get things right, but it's more than just the grade.
Also, I want to remember what I'm learning. I'm afraid I'm going to forget something really important- like pertaining to ethics and then lose my license (which I don't even have yet, but it's a worry for the future).
I've been reading about various counseling theories- Adler and existentialist theory are the two that are standing out to me right now. I thought I wouldn't enjoy the chapter on existentialism this week. Reading the intro page reminded me of trying to understand it in 11th grade, and I remember feeling like I couldn't quite get a grasp on it. I guess maybe now that I've had some more life experience, and had some "existential angst" so to speak, it makes more sense. I actually can really relate to a lot of the reasoning and questions. It's a lot of the questions, feelings I've felt, and thinking I've done myself, without realizing that there's a whole theory behind what I've been doing!
In class tonight we had to do a workbook exercise and then break up into groups and discuss. It's kind of weird to be telling all this fairly personal stuff to people I just met a month ago. At any rate, one of the questions was regarding an area for personal growth- something we'd like to improve on. I said I'd like to grow in trusting people more. I know that I have grown a lot in this area over the last few years, but there are still things that I tend to hold back. I guess it just takes time and building up relationships, and realizing that I'm OK as my own person, and that I'm becoming more comfortable with myself, and that I shouldn't be afraid or nervous to share it. People will like it, or they won't.
Tonight after class, I started doing some research for one of my upcoming projects, and I found myself getting really excited about the stuff I found. I am looking forward to going back and reading these articles about counseling! I feel like I've been over my head in theoretical stuff, so getting just a glimpse tonight of articles that have been written by counselors in their settings is exciting. It's like the theories have feet. They will get me somewhere, it just takes time. Too bad when I research, I start taking bunny trails and get so distracted! This was true in my undergrad as well. I'd be at the library looking for something, and go off on something completely different. I remember one afternoon just being enamored with old magazine advertisements. I couldn't get enough! Yet I was supposed to be looking up information on Vietnam. Whoops.
At any rate, it's hard in some ways to believe that it's been a month. And maybe in another month, I'll be saying "Alright, when's vacation?"