I just had my second week of classes - half (1) of which were cancelled due to the Jewish new year. And just as the usual beginning anxieties started stirring up trouble just fifteen minutes before I was to head out the door for round two ("you sure you want to go there again? are you sure you've read all the material right?"), Mike walked in from his long day of work with a smile. He had plans to play basketball and was excited to see me all ready with my books and intellect about to drive off to the university. I upheld my confidence level to a moderate stance, and headed out of the apartment to my unknowing evening ahead.
USA Today founder, and midwestern business man, Al Neuharth once quoted, "The difference between a mountain and a molehill is in your perspective." Akin to my view of further education, depending on the day I can see both angles of this opportunity: for one, the chances, luck, and perserverance that helped me get into the program was a mountain of work and nerves. on the other hand, the varying range of folks in the program I worked so hard to get into, can honestly make me feel like it wasn't necessarily worth all the fuss (perhaps a bit harsh, but merely I mean the tales of others' non-academic experiences that helped them get into the same grad program which I had to prove was an academic fit for me). Secondly, I am on the track of concentrating in Marriage and Family therapy, of which many people I know well or barely at all have had the audacity (or insecurity) to say, "Oh, well we could certainly use some of those" (a point made to me by two separate divorcees), or "You're too young to be counseling others on that matter!"
Granted, I have already come to the conclusion that there certainly will be some resistance, or at least hesitance from future clients who sit before a twenty or young thirty-something eager to discuss their mid-life crises, or sexual intimacy issues that are intruding upon their marriage older than me. Nonetheless, the time warp has not got me as worried, as much as the promise I have made to myself to simply be as educated, and thus prepared by the books to handle all the objections to my practice. Emotionally, I know I will be as ready as any graduate (no matter what the age) to assess and interpret clients' problems and aid them in whatever way possible. Not to mention that anyone working the mental health field is not likely to go at it alone. Mentors, supervisors, and coworkers will always be a brief consult away for me to gather my thoughts and request assistance whenever needed in a potentially "unknown" situation. So, ultimately, the capability of my future services are only bound by the initial openness and faith of my clients.
On a lighter and more present note, I will be getting married (just two weeks away now!), and am thankful to be taking on this career challenge with a new kind of partner, my husband. My husband. My hubs! It will be a wonderful introduction to that slight kind of shift in a relationship that at first seems so mountainous, but overall should remain "molehill" in action. (Un)fortunately Mike and I have really never experienced the kind of vast change in our pairing that shook our core love for one another, we've truly only gained uphill views of the future ahead of us. And it is with our wedding that there will be a sort of "proof-by paperwork" commitment to one another, and for that I am grateful...if it only helps "solidify" my molehill experience as a therapist with her Master's.
