The Green Social Worker

I knew when I lived there that I would miss York, England immensely. I knew I'd daydream about the twisting snickleways, the gorgeous York Minster, the York Explore Library, the Museum Gardens, the River Ouse, my neighborhood of Micklegate, and so much more. I knew I would miss my friends there, and the friends who became like my family-away-from-family. But it was also hard to love it sometimes, because York lacked some of the things I need most: my family, my friends and my (now) fiance. For those reasons, I am utterly grateful to be back and I cannot imagine leaving them soon. I feel more intensely like a homebody than ever before -  I just want to soak up time with those I love more than ever (kind of hard as I'm so busy, but at least  I'm on the same continent!). But yes, I do miss York, in that same intense bittersweet nostalgic way I thought I would. I miss it more than I thought I would, somehow. For the first few weeks of being home, I'd wake up and have w...

This is a helpful thought right now as I balance about ten million different things: my field placement (internship), my job (Research Assistant), classes (four of them), homework (papers AND readings), Crafts with a Cause (volunteer stuff I'm doing at Ascension with my sister), Alliance for Anti-Racist Social Work Practice (at school...somehow I'm the SGA student leader), and planning my wedding. And trying to see my fiance, friends, and family. Wow, when I write it all down...no wonder my brain feels hazy and too-full. I was making a flier for the Alliance's first meeting, and stressing because I didn't have the agenda of our meeting to put on there. I don't KNOW the agenda of our meeting, I thought frantically. I don't even know where to start! Are we having a discussion? A film screening? Who should I ask? Who is a stakeholder in this meting? Who to email? When to meet? Then I thought, as though someone had gently tapped me on the shoulder and was remind...

When I wrote this tongue-in-cheek question, it marked the fifth day in a row I've cried. I'm not particularly sad, but I am in grad school. )This may or may not explain things to you.) I feel that the word "overwhelm" is a good way to describe how I feel about right now, which is towards the end of our two-week midterm period.  I also ask myself, usually on a daily basis, why you would pay nearly $18,000 a year at a top-ranked university merely to sit in class and mess around on Photoshop on your laptop during your lectures and discussions. I also question why someone would zone out for most of the lecture on her laptop (very obviously) and then pop in by raising her hand at an opportune moment to make a comment that has NOTHING to do with what we're discussing merely so she can get participation points. Correct me if I'm wrong, but do our professors not have PhDs? I think they can tell when you're not paying attention.  On a more serious note, it ...

I want to keep track of how I'm feeling at graduate school at different intervals. I published this post on Medium Chill in the beginning of September RAVING about it. I really do still feel relatively similarly, but I thought it was fun to look back and see my non-tired, non-exhausted enthusiasm. http://mediumchill.blogspot.com/2018/09/social-work-school-so-far.html What is Medium Chill? Ooohhhh Medium Chill. I really like blogging (hence this blog) and I wanted to make a joint blog with my sister, brother-in-law, and fiance. We're all creative, some of us like to write, some of us do crafty things. But the only person who really likes blogging is me. I don't think blogs are their inner strengths, but they have lots of others. I think instead of forcing them to blog with me about their strengths, I'll just feature them here on this blog, which is my own personal passion project. Social Work School So Far (originally published Sunday September 2nd) Social W...

This blog title is a mash-up between the final, breathtaking line of Mary Oliver's incredible poem, Wild Geese, and an awesome TEDx talk one of my professors showed us ( "Social Workers Are Superheroes" ), and my own love, passion, crazy excitement for my profession of social work. I've just started my foundation year of graduate school of social work, and it has been a wild ride so far. I actually thought about naming this blog that (One Wild Ride), but I also hope that in a few years it won't be quite so wild, just pleasantly exciting. And that title is kind of cheesy. Why has it been so wild? I got back from living abroad for a year in York, England (which was life-changing and amazing), and then four days later went to Orientation for this, my master's program. It was a quick turn-around. Oh, and I had just gotten engaged! All incredible things, for which I am so grateful, but definitely a strange few weeks to live in. I really love this crazy socia...