I'm A Wanderer of Sorts

I met with my supervisor at my student internship on Wednesday, and he is awesome. I am relieved beyond belief. There have been some horror stories going around about terrible supervisors and crappy agencies. Well, mine are not! Also, the agency and what I will be doing sounds pretty incredible. I'll be working with mentally ill kids, doing respite work, group work, individual work, etc. It's got variety, what I love best. I think it's going to be a very good fit. And the bonus is that it is only a 10-minute walk from my house! Now, THAT is unheard of. So I really got lucky. Or was it luck???

Anyway, in order to intern there, they need a background check on me, 'cause, ya know, I could be a criminal. Have you seen my face?!? But seriously, I totally understand why they do this...duh. I just didn't think I would be asked to give them EVERY SINGLE ADDRESS of EVERYWHERE I HAVE EVER LIVED! For real. Insane. Oh, and don't forget the month and year time frame in which I lived at those residences. Holy cow. I nearly busted my brains out to dig that deep. Fortunately for me, I have an AMAZING mother who keeps very good records, and also friends who have better memories than I do.

The total??

20 moves in 29 years.

I have moved 20 times in 29 years!!!!!

That means only 9 years of my entire life has been consistent!! Not even half!!! I knew I moved a lot, but wow. Wow.

God only knows, and I mean that quite literally, (well, and maybe others have figured it out by now, too) that the only thing that will keep me put is a man + marriage + kids. So until then, whaddayasay I shoot for 30 moves by my 39th birthday?? I'm not afraid!This has come with me, off and on, in the last handful of moves. It's my parents' original engagement photo and frame. I took the liberty of inheriting it (sorry, brother and sisters). I seriously don't feel at home without it. My room is officially complete! Thanks, mom!!

I Cannot Tell a Lie

I'm drained. Last week was tough. My classes are all about self-awareness and identities and judgments and racism and social injustice, etc, etc. I know, I better get used to it, right? I know I didn't choose an easy/simple field of study. Social work is hard. Working with humans and their troubles is hard. I knew this. I am just finally here now, and it's a lot to take in. But, I'll be okay. (how I felt at the end of last week)

I should be starting my internship tomorrow, but my school was last minute in telling me where my placement is, so I haven't been able to meet with my supervisor yet. At least I do know where I will be working, though. It's with an agency that has been around since the late 1890s, literally. It's called SCO Family of Services (www.sco.org), and I will be helping with "blended child case management", which means I will be working on child cases. But since I haven't met with my supervisor yet, I don't know exactly what type of cases they will be. It can be anything from abuse/neglect to poverty, to foster care, etc. Whatever it is, it will be challenging and probably heart-wrenching at times, but rewarding and life-changing. Sure, I'm nervous. That's a given. But, then this comes to mind......and I feel better, because I know it's true. Last week was a lot of me digesting the fact that I very much stand alone or apart from the rest of my classmates and associates at this school and elsewhere, due to my religious beliefs. Once again, this is something I was not naive about in moving to New York and attending NYU. I guess it had just been a long while since it has set me apart so blatantly. Then add race into the mix. One of my text books is called Racism in the United States, and the readings I had to do last week talked a lot about the white race being "privileged" and having to "unlearn racism". Both of these phrases didn't sit very well with me. I have never thought of myself as privileged and definitely not the kind of person needing to unlearn racism. I got to write my feelings about it in what my professor calls a "reflection paper," which is a great learning tool. She doesn't grade them, but just wants us to digest what we're learning by writing our thoughts and feelings about what we read out on paper. I can already tell that this class will be the one I get the most from.