My Simple, Happy, Beautiful Life

My work schedule is modified traditional, so I had a fall break for two weeks! The first week was spent doing normal things (netflix, sleeping in, being lazy, running). The second week, I planned a fun roadtrip with my mom to explore the redwoods and coast. We've always wanted to go to Ashland Shakespeare festival, so we decided to drive up to Oregon and spend the day in Ashland as well. People always assume when you are from California that you live by the beach and see stars in Hollywood. Well, let me tell you, California is diverse and Northern California is even more diverse than I remembered.  A fun game we played was describing the trees and their unique shapes. When we were hiking, we often would find trees like this and then say what we saw.  The "tallest" tree in the grove. The ranger said that this tree is probably no longer the tallest tree but they have a hard time measuring the trees in the grove.  We stayed in a cute little place in Scotia c...

Happy news. I graduated in May and I haven't posted about anything, so here comes my life after grad school post. My graduation weekend was unlike anything other. I graduated on May 21st, 2016, the day after my birthday. I turned 25 and then the day after I graduated with my MSW. It was going to be the happiest and most eventful weekend during the summer and then....I got hand foot and mouth disease! It is a children's disease but I guess I got it from my internship. I don't recommend getting if you ever have the choice :) Nonetheless, graduation happened and then my post school life began. I had the summer off and had plenty of time to travel and go to Girls Camp and the Stake Youth Trek. I finished my year off at my internship and then enjoyed the summer. We went to Hawaii for a week and explored the main island. We hiked, visited the volcano, soaked up the sun on beaches, snorkled with sea turtles, ate fish and looked at waterfalls. It was the perfect way to cel...

I have learned a secret that really helps in my graduate school program. It is a thing that I have always known about but never actually applied until this semester. It is this concept called procrastination. ' I used to be really good at it. I could put off a month long paper and finish in the day before. I would find any distraction to put off starting the project. I would get a pretty good grade and then move on with life and feel accomplished until I went to graduate school.  I  have learned that doing them before the deadline is beneficial and reduces my stress enormously.  So, graduate school has taught me the brilliance of getting things done before the deadline and working on them early.  Cheers to getting things turned in early!

This weekend I was forced to slow down and relax. Everyone around me has been sick and I was just lucky to not get it from them. Well, this weekend was my not so lucky weekend, but I have watched quite a few cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies. Let me tell you, I actually like them. They are all really cheesy and extremely predictable but I adore them. They are a great escape from reality sometimes. Anyways, things have been going. When I say that they have been going, I mean that time is flying and I am constantly trying to keep up with things. This semester has been pretty fast and I only have two or three weeks and then I have one more semester until I graduate. Sometimes I have to do a reality check because I feel like I just got accepted into the graduate program. My thesis keeps me busy as my partner and I meet weekly to "perfect" our thesis. I have learned from this process that I do not want to get my Ph D anytime soon.  I thought that the thesis project would be exc...

I have not written in here all summer long. It really shows how busy I was, but it was definitely a good busy. I had a great summer full of learning, traveling, new friends and time with family. I really wanted to be a EFY counselor this summer and I interviewed and I was rejected from the job. I was a little heartbroken since I really wanted to travel and be a EFY counselor, but this summer was exactly what I needed. I had lots of opportunities to expand myself and have fun at the same time. I ended up being in school to get my PPS credential. It is basically a credential to work as a school social worker. The class itself was really interesting, it was on Saturday's all day, but I finished the course work. I am now doing my internship hours, so I can receive my credential when I graduate with my MSW. I did start my internship at the school for students with developmental disabilities and emotional disturbance. I worked there for summer school and I started the school year as ...

I have been confused for the last month or two regarding my future employment and internship. This whole not knowing where I was going to end up was making me really stressed out, but I am so happy that things are finally working out and coming together.  Do you want to hear my happy news?  I feel like my social work identity is finally coming together as I know who I am as a social worker. My professional identity is developing.  I am starting a new position as a Education Related Mental Health Therapist Intern at this private school called Guiding Hands. It is going to be a paid internship and I am working with the population that I love working with. I have developed a love for working with people who have disabilities, specifically developmental disabilities. I find working with this population is extremely rewarding yet challenging. It pushes me to work hard but I find the work very enjoyable. So, I am very happy about this placement. It is in El Dorado Hi...

So, I am ending my first year of my internship and it has been such a learning process. I haven't really thought about the termination process because the end never really seemed like it was near. Well, I have two more days of my internship. That is absolutely crazy to think that I have been here for a year. I have been at Health for All, which is an adult day health care center. I am with adults who have physical and mental disabilities. There is a wide range of clients who have mental health diagnosis, extreme physical health limitations and isolation. Many clients lost contact with family and live with caregivers and board and care. The clients struggle with isolation, depression, grief and loss of independence. The more I think about it, the more sad and happy I am with this termination process. I don't think I am really ready for the termination process, but I have to be though. I am happy because that means it is summer! Sometimes having the internship along with the sc...