I went to college determined to become a Kindergarten teacher. It was after my first year that I realized I wasn't going to teach so I changed my major to Human Development and Family Studies, but had no idea what I would do with the degree. I looked into becoming a Child Life Specialist because my love for Children was still very evident. Then I took Intro to Marriage & Family Therapy, the class that began to stir up my affections. So then I registered for more classes about relationships, Courtship & Marriage and Close Relationships. I started studying Song of Solomon through Tommy Nelson's in depth study. And I also started my own studies on what it looked like to be a Godly wife as well as a Godly husband. My passion for the marriage relationship began to tug at my heart. I knew then that I would pursue Counseling because I knew that I wanted to work with Christian couples through pre-marital and marriage counseling. So I started looking into graduate schools to get my degree in Counseling.
It wasn't long before I found myself in the Counseling program at Dallas Baptist. I love my classes and love learning about human interaction. However, my passion for marriage counseling slowly disappeared. (I believe this partially has to do with the fact that I continue to be single) I continued to be passionate about children and wanted to find a job in social services in order to prepare myself for Counseling. I found a job with a foster care agency and became very passionate about those little children. I worked in that agency for six months, but became very worn down between work and school so I left. Over the following few months, I took a job that would allow me to focus on school but for whatever reason the job ended up not working out as the project I was working on got canceled. I took another job working in a foster care agency, but held a different position. I worked with my children on a more one-on-one basis helping them to develop specific skills, I worked a lot with children that needed to learn anger management.
After growing very frustrated with the agency I was working with and somewhat disappointed in my lack of passion for counseling I decided to follow my passion for children and get an alternative certification. It almost seems crazy that I would teach considering the path I've taken to get to this place. Don't worry...I have wrestled with this a lot. I love children and I am passionate about teaching me some little Kindergarten kids, but I know that is only temporary. I will be the best teacher that I can be during my time as a teacher, but I cannot say that I will be a teacher twenty years from now.
I still continue to be passionate about counseling and am finishing my Masters degree. I am not sure if I will get my license or not at this time. I may do school counseling after teaching for several years or I may not. I really have no idea what counseling looks like for me at this current point in time. I think this is what has made finding a Practicum hard for me this semester. I wanted to find something where I worked with children as I know that my passion for children will always be present. I have found something in the school system and am excited to work with the children and know that it will allow me to see if I want to pursue school counseling. However, during my search for a practicum site I spoke with a woman at a local church and talking with her helped restore my passion.
I realized then that my desire to receive a Masters in Counseling wasn't necessarily because I desired to be paid to use my degree. In fact, it was probably not that at all. My passion for counseling was to guide Christian couples in their marriages to develop healthier relationships. My desire was to learn what God's word said about husbands and wives, to learn about relationship dynamics and then use my skills to help married couples restore their love for one another. My desire was to help end a devastating statistic of Christian marriages ending in divorce. My desire was to help our future children from experiencing divorce. After talking with this woman who was offering free counseling to those in her church, I realized that my passion for counseling had nothing to do with a career but instead had everything to do with my ministry. I look forward to the day that I can use my skills as a counselor and my knowledge of the bible to help others in a very rewarding way.
I will do whatever it is that I do to the best of my ability. I will be the best teacher that I can be. I will be the best counselor that I can be. Ultimately, I will use whatever God has blessed me with to further his kingdom. I pray that God will continue to use me, his daughter, to do the work He has called me to do.
It wasn't long before I found myself in the Counseling program at Dallas Baptist. I love my classes and love learning about human interaction. However, my passion for marriage counseling slowly disappeared. (I believe this partially has to do with the fact that I continue to be single) I continued to be passionate about children and wanted to find a job in social services in order to prepare myself for Counseling. I found a job with a foster care agency and became very passionate about those little children. I worked in that agency for six months, but became very worn down between work and school so I left. Over the following few months, I took a job that would allow me to focus on school but for whatever reason the job ended up not working out as the project I was working on got canceled. I took another job working in a foster care agency, but held a different position. I worked with my children on a more one-on-one basis helping them to develop specific skills, I worked a lot with children that needed to learn anger management.
After growing very frustrated with the agency I was working with and somewhat disappointed in my lack of passion for counseling I decided to follow my passion for children and get an alternative certification. It almost seems crazy that I would teach considering the path I've taken to get to this place. Don't worry...I have wrestled with this a lot. I love children and I am passionate about teaching me some little Kindergarten kids, but I know that is only temporary. I will be the best teacher that I can be during my time as a teacher, but I cannot say that I will be a teacher twenty years from now.
I still continue to be passionate about counseling and am finishing my Masters degree. I am not sure if I will get my license or not at this time. I may do school counseling after teaching for several years or I may not. I really have no idea what counseling looks like for me at this current point in time. I think this is what has made finding a Practicum hard for me this semester. I wanted to find something where I worked with children as I know that my passion for children will always be present. I have found something in the school system and am excited to work with the children and know that it will allow me to see if I want to pursue school counseling. However, during my search for a practicum site I spoke with a woman at a local church and talking with her helped restore my passion.
I realized then that my desire to receive a Masters in Counseling wasn't necessarily because I desired to be paid to use my degree. In fact, it was probably not that at all. My passion for counseling was to guide Christian couples in their marriages to develop healthier relationships. My desire was to learn what God's word said about husbands and wives, to learn about relationship dynamics and then use my skills to help married couples restore their love for one another. My desire was to help end a devastating statistic of Christian marriages ending in divorce. My desire was to help our future children from experiencing divorce. After talking with this woman who was offering free counseling to those in her church, I realized that my passion for counseling had nothing to do with a career but instead had everything to do with my ministry. I look forward to the day that I can use my skills as a counselor and my knowledge of the bible to help others in a very rewarding way.
I will do whatever it is that I do to the best of my ability. I will be the best teacher that I can be. I will be the best counselor that I can be. Ultimately, I will use whatever God has blessed me with to further his kingdom. I pray that God will continue to use me, his daughter, to do the work He has called me to do.
