My summer semester is moving along quickly. It still seems surreal that I am in grad school, and that soon, I will be in my second year. This current semester has been one of my favorites. While each semester has had their highs and lows, I have somehow maneuvered through summer and truly feel like I have found my happy medium. Between the clinical experiences and courses, I am still able to squeeze in a getaway for a convention and pseudo-vacation this coming week. I just wrapped up my summer intensive clinical placement. That was my first taste of real life by putting in full days and seeing a client for more than thirty or fifty minutes at a time. I have seen my clients in the past making achievements towards goals and improvements, but when forty straight hours are spent with a client, the bounds and leaps are so evident. It was inspiring to see the impact of teamwork and collaboration on all fronts. Each night when I came home, I was absolutely drained. Each morning when it was time to go to work, I was so energized. That is when I knew this was the perfect fit for me. I gave it my all during the day, and I was ready to hit it just as hard the next day again and again. The level of trying this week was unlike anything I have experienced. Clinicians and clients alike gave it their all. Certain expectations were met and exceeded. This is not to say there were not some challenges, because there were, but it made all the triumphs even sweeter. Future clinical experiences will be hard, and so will future classes. I know when it comes down to it, I can dig deep and see it through to the end. This past week will forever be ingrained in my memory and the reminder of the reason why I fell in love with speech-language pathology to begin with. Try with all your might, and then add a little umph! Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019
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It has been years since we managed to get away outside of our usual rotation of local places we like to go for the day. Somehow, it all worked out this past week to spend the day before the holiday in Shipshewana, Indiana. My parents and I love going there because it is just far enough away to feel like we have been somewhere, but not too far that it requires packing and planning. Another reason is simply for the food and the liquid gold that is Amish peanut butter that would inevitably make its way home with us. I would not necessarily consider a day trip to Shipshewana a vacation, but it was the closest thing we were going to get this summer. Having summer classes and going in a hundred different directions at once made me welcome an unplugged day. Cell reception, or lack thereof, made it impossible to be attached to my phone and compulsively checking in with reality. I was completely in the moment, and I have not been able to feel that free in a long time. Our day started early and being the “not a morning person” that I am, iced coffee was a requirement if I planned on making it all day (spoiler, I definitely slept on the way home). The ride there always seems like it takes forever, but once we got there, the first stop was to the flea market. We normally are not big into flea markets, but we make an exception for this one. From weird household things and hardware to hats and sunglasses, they have it all. Once in town, I loved going to the mercantile building. There, it was mandatory to get a fresh soft pretzel. I will argue that Shipshewana has the best around! My favorite store is a music store. I could have spent all day in there looking at music and playing instruments. That is one place that never gets old. A trip is never complete without making our way to the E&S bulk food store where you can find just about anything you need and then some as well as Yoder’s store, where a hat fashion show almost always takes place. I cannot help myself. We rounded out our trip at the Essenhaus, our favorite restaurant when we go to Shipshewana. After a long (and hot) day of shopping, seeing the Amish ways, and being with family, it always feels good to sit around a table, eat real comfort food, and enjoy each other’s company. I know I would never survive living as the Amish do, but it is always nice to go and temporarily get a sense of a change of pace. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 If you were to ask me to do something, chances are, I would have said yes in a heartbeat to avoid saying no. I never wanted to let other people down or disappoint, so I almost always said yes if it meant doing something for someone else. Once I became more rooted in figuring out the direction of my life and the goals I had, I learned that at this point, being selfish with my time and dedications was okay. In the last year, I do not know how many text messages I have sent that say ‘time is of the essence’ to my friends or say it in conversation. My perspective of time is totally different now that I am in a grad program, and time waits for no one. One minute, I have my life together, and the next, I have no clue how everything will get done, but it always does. But time is the most precious thing we all cling to, and anything that does not have a direct and positive impact on our goals and help us get to the next step, some things just are not worth the time or effort. Realizing this took time for me to come to terms with. From outsiders, I am greedy with my time. There comes the point where reaching my goals means more than being busy just to be busy. I cannot be all things to all people or be expected to squeeze stuff in just to say I did something. If it does not relate to my goals or mean something to me, I have to stand up for the future I want by prioritizing commitments. Until I made these priorities a true priority, I would take on way more than I could handle, and everything suffered. Since being stricter with myself, I can dedicate the needed time to my studies and research first, and what I do with the sparing extra time I have, I do things on my terms and not others. Life is short, and time is of the essence. I am always on a time crunch, and as much as a motivator that is, adding to the time crunch is unneeded stress and torture I do not need. I still feel a little torn when I say no to something, but I know it is for the best. Until my goals are achieved, and my dreams come to life, I must pick my priorities. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 |
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