My First Year Internship experience as a School Counselor
Today was the last day of school for my students and the last day I had with them as their socio-emotional counselor. Working with high-trauma youth in Oakland has been the most enlightening experience of my life. On this bitter-sweet day, my students came to school an hour early to decorate my office, write me goodbye letters, and surprise me with an appreciation party. I never realized how much of an impact I had on these kids, but most of all-- how much of an impact they have had on me.
Before now, when people asked me “Why social work?” like many people, I answer with something along the lines of “I want to help people". I always knew I wanted a career in human services, but I could never find the words to fully explain why. Becoming a social worker was something that just seemed right, an unexplainable feeling that this is what I am supposed to do. Having a feeling is great (especially in this field), but I've been abstractly searching for a more definitive answer.
This experience has hit something inside me, and for the first time, I finally understand what being a social worker means in a logical way, not just an “it feels right” way, but why social work is the right profession for me.
Social work is acting out of love for strangers in tangible ways. We are made to represent love so that all people we encounter have a more profound sense of hope and faith within themselves. We do the hard, intimate, sometimes painful work, and in return bring a little more of the divine into life. We get to remind one another about the bigger, more beautiful picture that we can’t always see from where we are.
Social work is acting out of love for strangers in tangible ways. We are made to represent love so that all people we encounter have a more profound sense of hope and faith within themselves. We do the hard, intimate, sometimes painful work, and in return bring a little more of the divine into life. We get to remind one another about the bigger, more beautiful picture that we can’t always see from where we are.
Sometimes in life, things take a bad turn and everything is not okay. One of the most profound gifts we can provide to those we work with is a safe place to be upset and the willingness to listen with perceptive compassion--because in the end, what more can we do? I can't go back in time and change the past...I can't make traumatic memories disappear, or the cruel beings who caused them...I can’t control the hurtful words that come out of a bully's mouth or the painful abuse that happens at home...And I can’t say that it’s never going to happen again or that everything will be okay. But-- I can be there, and I can listen. I can sit in silence in the moments of rage, knowing that everything is not okay, but that in this tiny moment--it is.
Thanks to my wonderful supervisor and all my middle and high school munchkins. You have encouraged my fervor in school counseling and I now feel confident as to why I am dedicating my career to serving youth in need. I couldn’t be more grateful for this experience and the amazing kids who allowed me to be a part of their life journey.
