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| I'm not sure anyone still reads this. But if you do, please note that I've moved to a new blog. Sorry xanga, but it's time for us to part ways.
lauragreen.wordpress.com
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| Just thought I'd let everyone know, I'm moving to New York City in August. Seriously. I've talked about it for a few years now and I figured it was time to actually do it. Well, there is a little more to it than that. I am taking a class in the graduate department at Hunter College School of Social Work and working. Haven't found a job yet so if you pray, I'd appreciate your prayers. I feel peaceful about my decision and truly believe that the timing is right. After all, God doesn't just give us dreams for the heck of it. He gives us those dreams and then gives us the courage to live them. So thats what I'm doing, living my dream. Hopefully I won't be living my dream in a closet sized apartment with my cat and a few rats. I'm going to travel to New York in July to look for an apartment and hopefully interview for a few jobs. Again, those of you who pray, I'd welcome prayers that I'd find a suitable place to live. I'm going to be looking primarily in Brooklyn, I think.
On a side note: I'm going to miss my job. I love my kids and am even attached to a few of the parents. :o) I started my job in Child Welfare very reluctantly and with a sense of dread that I would hate it and that the long hours would be too much. Instead, it's been incredibly fulfilling and I have been able to invest in people and see lives changed. I was right about the long hours, but sometimes they were worth it. | | |
| Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm currently enjoying time with the family in Bartlesville. This is my favorite time of the year. The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is filled with fantastic smells, food, and decorations.
FYI - I was flying home from Boulder CO and the airline overbooked my flight. In exchange for volunteering to take a later flight, I was given a free round-trip ticket good for anywhere in the continental United States. My friend and I are going to New York City in December. I'm pretty excited. I get to see my favorite city during my favorite time of the year!!
Work is going much better than I expected. I work pretty long hours and don't make a whole lot of money, but I like it. I thought it was going to be a job that would be a good experience but not something that I wanted to do for very long. However, the more I invest myself in my cases, the more I like it. I'm still learning how to do my job which makes it a bit difficult sometimes. There is so much paperwork. That might be the part I dislike the most. Actually, the part I dislike the most is when people are dishonest with me. Which happens quite often. I didn't grow up having to second guess everything people told me because I suspected that they were lying. I also always want to believe the best in people so it makes it harder for me to tell if they are being honest. And I'm naturally a fairly gullible person. My discernment is improving though. Probably the most satisfying part of my job is knowing that I am making a difference in the lives of people. I love getting to send children home. Though I also have to watch some parents choose their destructive lifestyles over their children. That is heartbreaking. But no matter how sad it makes me, I'm always thankful that the children are safe and have an opportunity to do something more with their lives. | | |
| Well, it's official. I have real, bonafide grown-up job. I have been hired by the Department of Human Services as a Child Welfare Specialist and July 23rd will be my first day of work. I'm not completely sure yet what that means, but I'm sure it'll be hard. What I do know is that after kids are removed from their homes their case comes with me and I create a contingency plan with the ultimate goal being family reunification. Wow. Not a bit of responsibility there.....
Honestly, I'm a bit nervous. And when I say a bit nervous I mean that I really have no idea how I'm going to do this. I went in to sign paperwork this morning and while sitting out in the waiting room, it hit me - I will be responsible for the lives and future well-being of children. This isn't a class and there will not be a test. I will either succeed or fail. I'm expecting a combination of both. But this I do know - that Jesus is Lord and that I am His, and that gives me great comfort. I am praying for the discernment and grace to do this job to the absolute best of my ability and giftings. It is quite possible, for some of these beautiful children, that I will be the first person in their lives to actually care about what happens to them. Whether they succeed or fail. Whether they grow up to the be healthy adults or simply to repeat the cycle they were born into.
Luckily for me, I'm an optimist. | | |
| I have a job interview tomorrow. I've had alot of these lately. This one is with the DHS office in Norman. I've been officially looking for a job since November, I started going on interviews in January. It's June and the only thing I have to show for my efforts is a part time job in a restaurant kitchen and an unpaid internship. Now, granted I am enjoying the internship. I really like the vision of the organization and it's one that I honestly support. However - what I really want is a "big kid" job that pays a decent amount of money. Honestly - the place that I really want to work is OICA (the place that I'm interning) but I think the chances of that happening are quite slim. It's a small nonprofit that doesn't hire very often. So with that in mind, I'm to the point where I'm willing to give DHS one or two years of my life. It's only temporary, eventually I'll go to graduate school. Now, just be clear, I don't have a problem with DHS. It just isn't what I want to do with my life. I want to work with human rights on a broader scale, something like Amnesty International or maybe the United Nations. I really admire people that work at DHS their whole professional lives, it's a job that is greatly needed. I just don't think it's for me. However, who knows, I could end up working their and falling in love with it. If that happens, awesome. It just isn't something that I'm anticipating. I think it's a job that would provide some very valuable experience and help equip me for what I want to do in the future.
So wish me luck tomorrow. That is, if anyone actually reads this before tomorrow. I'm not sure too many people read this blog. | | |
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