Flippy Floppies

This post is going to be about literal, and metaphorical flippy floppies. First, for the literal: My cousin got me hooked on these flip flops called "Sanuks." They are made of recycled yoga mats (or beer koozies for men), and they are the second most comfortable things I have ever worn in my life (behind Ugg boots). I would never usually think about spending over $30 on a pair of flip flops, but trust me, they're worth it. And they're super cute too! Definitely try them out, they're a staple for a quick trip out the door!

Ok, now on to the metaphorical flippy floppies, or more accurately, my flip flopping. A few posts ago, I decided that I was going to take the reins of my future and stop relying on the mean system that is higher education, and make a different path for myself in the field of Child Life. Um, yeah, I take that back. I'm about halfway into my child life class, and I am NOT feeling it. With speech, I was so incredibly interested and excited to learn, and I realized that I just can't let it go anymore. I find myself caring absolutely nothing about my class, and it really is a shame. I don't really know what I'm going to do, or how I'm going to do it, but I am back to being determined to become an SLP.

I think I originally arrived at this decision when the head of the department told me I would have to go to grad school for child life. I figure, if I need to go to grad school, why not just apply to something that I really really really want to do? True, child life might not be as competitive, but I just don't want to do it. I'm proud of myself for trying it, but I now know that it's just not for me.

I'd like to get a good grade in the class so that I can have one more positive thing to add to applications in the fall, so hopefully I can achieve that. I'm kind of freaking out about who will write me letters of recommendation, since I'm far enough out of Wooster that my relationships with professors have kind of dissipated. I'm also really nervous that they don't really have faith in me, since it's been such a hard road. I'll definitely need to look for new connections this time around.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Katie, what in the world are you going to do for the next year to enhance your applications?" and I'm honestly asking myself the exact same thing. I'm kicking myself for not taking the City Year interview senior year when I had the chance, and instead choosing the safe secretary route. But hey, hindsight is 20/20, and I'm apparently having a lot of that lately. I am going to apply to City Year again, and I'm also going to continue seeking out and applying for SLPA jobs in the DC area. I had thought about volunteering abroad, but I'm a homebody and the idea completely freaks me out. I also don't know which volunteer programs are best, or most legitimate so I feel lost at the same time.

In the interim, I was suggested by someone at work to fill in for a maternity leave (full-time) position in the fall, so I'm going to be shadowing for that. It's nice to get some recognition and to finally be making full-time pay, but again, it's not the job I crave. I am absolutely grateful for the opportunity, though, so I'm going to take advantage. I also might apply to an editing job in DC, because I like editing and it would get me closer to SLPA opportunities.

So, in conclusion, I'm going back to speech. If you have any leads on SLPA jobs, or "early language intervention" jobs, please please please keep me in mind. I am always open to suggestions from current SLPs, grad students, or adults in any field. Prayers, thoughts, and general support are always welcomed, and much, much appreciated. I'm kind of scared to be diverting myself back to this route of pain and rejection, but I am completely positive it is the one on which I belong, and I'm coming back swinging. 

The Tentative Future

Long time, no post, eh? That's because I've been waiting out this whole grad school thing, just so I could decide what announcements to make. As it were, I've officially been rejected from 7 schools.  The 8th school, University of Virginia, sent out acceptances a while ago (I've been perusing a grad school message board), so I'm not going to hold my breath. 

So, in lieu of crying and being depressed, which I haven't actually been, I'm just a bit bitter, I'm officially going to be moving forward with my Plan B. I will be attending The University of Akron for a post-bacc program in Child Life. It will end up taking me about two years, the length of a masters program, as well as a 480 hour internship. The field is relatively new, and kind of unknown, so here is a description the child life career from the Child Life Council website: 

"Child life specialists are trained professionals with expertise in helping children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events. Armed with a strong background in child development and family systems, child life specialists promote effective coping through play, preparation, education, and self-expression activities. They provide emotional support for families, and encourage optimum development of children facing a broad range of challenging experiences, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization. Because they understand that a child’s wellbeing depends on the support of the family, child life specialists provide information, support and guidance to parents, siblings, and other family members. They also play a vital role in educating caregivers, administrators, and the general public about the needs of children under stress. "

Working on an inpatient floor of a hospital for almost two years has shown me just how important these types of support systems can be. I'm excited to finally get a jump on my career path after sitting here, trying to get past the (seemingly) mean hierarchy of education ever since I graduated. I plan to take some general classes like anatomy and medical terminology this summer at Tri-C, to save some money and to just get going. I can't wait to expand my brain; I've been so bored. I'm also excited to defer my student loan payments.

I figure that I'll work for a few years, and get a feel for the field of Child Life. If I know in my gut that I really want to go back to speech-language pathology, I'll apply to grad school with all new grades, letters of recommendation, and views on life.

Since I'll still be here in Cleveland for at least the next two years, I applied to another part time job as an office assistant in the RAP Clinic at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. If my research is correct, RAP stands for "recognition and prevention," in regards to mental illness in children. I'm in the market for a change, and this clinic sounds incredibly interesting.

Hopefully I'll be able to provide many more posts and updates in the near future. I'll let you know if Virginia blows this plan up and decides to accept me late in the game. And now, I'll leave you with this quote that a fellow Facebooker posted about a week ago. I feel like it really applies to me, and I'm happy to live by it:

One day she finally grasped that unexpected things were always going to happen in life. And with that she realized the only control she had was how she choose to handle them. So, she made the decision to survive using courage humor and grace. She was the queen of her life and the choice was hers! - See more at: http://purelykate16.tumblr.com/#sthash.JayJrCWn.dpufasdf

One day she finally grasped that unexpected things were always going to happen in life. And with that she realized the only control she had was how she choose to handle them. So, she made the decision to survive using courage humor and grace. She was the queen of her life and the choice was hers! - See more at: http://purelykate16.tumblr.com/#sthash.JayJrCWn.dpuf