Theories

Since classes officially started Wednesday, tonight was my first night in my Tuesday night class: Theories of Counseling.

My Tuesday and Thursday classes are both taught by my advisor, and I just have to share for a moment about this saint of a woman. Dr. B is, first and foremost, an Auburn alum (oh, I totally signed my first Bama account e-mail with a War Eagle!), so immediately we're two peas in an enemy territory pod. She's tall and waif-like, and she talks with her hand constantly so I can't help but notice that her fingers are long and thin and I imagine them to be cool and dry to the touch (weird that I think about these things? Probably). She's very pale with dark eyes and hair and a long, thin nose. (It's important to me to describe her because I imagine I'll write about her class, and I want you to be able to picture it).

This Earth angel GETS it. That's the best way I know how to put it. She's genuine and passionate about her career path, but she's no nonsense. She doesn't believe in fluff assignments and busy work... everything we discuss or participate in has a valid purpose. She keeps us in class no longer than we need to be there, and she's blended the class to be online in parts because she understands that grad students don't eat-sleep-and-breathe to be grad students. One of my classmates is a working school counselor, wife, and mother of a fifth grader. On a Wednesday night, she needs to be home by 8 to help her son with his pre-algebra, not sitting in class having a discussion for the sake of discussion.

Please don't think I'm looking for the easy way out; I'm not. I appreciate the learning process, and I am very aware of when something is vital to my education. If you can promise me that we will be learning crucial information from 6 o'clock to 9 o'clock, I will sit for three hours and soak it up. But if we're just taking turns sharing stories and trying to tie them into our subject matter, I'll pass, thanks.

Dr. B is also working on a proposal for a study abroad semester for our program for the May-mester. She's headed to Vienna in September to nail down the details, but it looks like in May I'll have the opportunity to visit Freud's home in Zurich (and, duh, the chocolate factory), the concentration camp where Frankel was kept, the Freud museum in London, and other psychotherapy theorist museums in Paris and elsewhere. This may or may not work out, but you know me-- if there's any way I can justify a trip overseas, I'm all in.

And before I wrap it up, I have to toot my own little horn for a moment: today I got a phone call informing me that I've been awarded an assistantship with the University. Instead of spending my semester with my Little Monsters as a sub in the local school system, I'll be a graduate research assistant to one of my professors (her specialties are sex therapy and play therapy, so this is sure to be an adventure). I'll spend 20 hours a week doing research with her and working in the counseling lab, where I'll answer the phone and schedule appointments for practicum students. The perks of the assistantships are half tuition paid (yay for Mom and Dad!) and a monthly stipend (yay for Lindsey!). I'll truly miss my adventures in subbing, but I can't pass up this opportunity. One, it wouldn't be fair to my parents; and two, it's invaluable for my resume... you never know when I might want to pursue a doctorate.

So I'm signing off tonight excited about the semester-- hope this feeling lasts.