This is quite the loaded question. I could easily begin listing all of the (widely varied) opportunities available to me as a Licensed Social Worker, but they're really not why I have chosen this path. I could tell you all about my daughter (which if you're interested you can look in my archive for an essay I wrote about her and some of our experience) who we adopted through kinship foster care, and how that experience shaped me and pointed me towards this path, but again, that is not my why either. Instead I will tell you the story of a girl who from a young age has struggled with the injustices she perceived and the system that supports them. That girl is me, and I think you will see from these examples that it is a natural fit for me.
My earliest memory of an injustice that got me all worked up was when I was in 3rd grade. My teacher that year was fired and I was mad. She was an amazing teacher and NOTHING in my eight year old perspective could have justified her being fired. I had her on a pedestal and no one could tell me any different, though I am not sure they dared try. I wrote a letter to the editor of my local newspaper and it was published. I hope to one day find a copy to review. Recently I looked up the teacher and case. Apparently the case went on for more than a decade and the teacher eventually lost. My loyalty to her is still deeply ingrained as while reading the history of the case and the various motions and appeals and their subsequent denials, I was bothered by the courts lack of ability to understand her and her unique situation as I remember it. At the same time I am hesitant to take a stand because I recognize my bias and my limited perspective based on the memories I compiled more than twenty years ago from my eight year old point of view. I seem to recall that she was in the midst of a pretty nasty divorce and battle with an abusive husband. Her reason for dismissal was being frequently tardy. The eight year old me didn't understand how this could have been such a big deal that it overshadowed how great she was at her job. Given the circumstances I felt the district could have had some grace for her situation. Though when I looked up the case, it seems that they did. On multiple occasions the district chose to postpone her dismissal in exchange for her agreement to be on time in the future and signed documents stating that if she failed to comply, she would willingly resign. She was again tardy, and at least one additional time they gave her another chance. Ultimately she was again tardy, but refused to willingly resign. The districts willingness to give her more chances indicates that they did in fact value her and her role in the school. The district was clearly in the right, right? Wrong...maybe? According to the documents they did a lot of things backwards in how they handled the dismissal. They violated her contract, public meeting laws, and even her request for the meetings to remain public and instead held them behind closed doors. Why the secrecy? This sends off some red flags for me, and throws the whole thing into questionable territory. As a divorced Native American, woman, was she being discriminated against? Was her husband wielding his power and influence to ruin her? Why the secrecy? Why did she fight it for so long if it was as cut and dried as it is presented? I will probably never know the truth about what transpired all those years ago, but I will always remember choosing to stand up when I felt it was wrong and trying with all my eight year old might to advocate for my teacher and fellow students.
Throughout my youth I often contemplated being a journalist because I enjoy digging into topics and exposing the truth. I have always loved animals and wanted to be a Veterinarian, but I'm terrible at math, so I decided after a short time at Vet Tech school, it wasn't for me. Being a critical thinker comes naturally to me and as a result I have always asked a lot of questions and that has allowed me to become at least a little bit knowledgeable about a lot of things. My friends and even casual acquaintances have always felt comfortable coming to me for information. I don't really know why, as a lot of the questions aren't specific to my life experiences. I've never needed to call a domestic abuse shelter, but several times I've been asked how it works. I've never needed to file an OFP or an HRO, but several times people have reached out to me for understanding. I've never been investigated by CPS, but several times others have sought my advice when they find themselves under the microscope. It is hard for me to understand why people don't just call and ask the places that provide these services the questions. Most of my knowledge has come from watching others go through the process or reading about it. The information is no more available to me than to anyone else, so I don't really understand why people don't just know these things or know how to find the answers on their own. I guess I have always been resourceful, even if I wasn't conscious of it and I somehow project that.
I have always been a very empathetic person. I try to view alternate perspectives whenever I can. I find it's the best way to figure out the root of the problem. This drives my husband crazy as he tends to take things at face value and that's the end of it. I crave that understanding of what makes people tick so that I can understand why they've made the choices they have. I guess you can say I've always had a person first approach to things. If you show me an addict, I am going to look for what caused the hole they are turning to drugs to fill. It is just the way I am. I don't believe in treating symptoms, I want to get to the problem and treat that! I find that is much easier to do with emotions and narratives than with physical problems.
All of these things, and more (I could keep going, and going here) are the parts of me that together have attracted me to social work. In order to finish my AA degree I needed a few elective credits and it seemed each time I was searching for an elective, those in the field of sociology were the ones I was most attracted to. I love sociology, but because I am a people person, and a bit of a fixer, a career in research wouldn't really be fulfilling to me. Social work though, allows me to have broad interests and focus areas, while working with people. A win-win. A field where I will be able to use all of these natural abilities and further develop them and gain new skills to advocate for people and to stand up for injustice. I love that as a social worker I can have an impact in so many different levels of the "system". I can work towards changing policy or organize an awareness or prevention campaign, or I can work with individuals and help them find their pain source and a path to healing it that doesn't cause more pain. It may be cliche' but I want to BE the change, or at least a part of it. I want my kids to grow up in a better world and I want them to see that change is possible.
My earliest memory of an injustice that got me all worked up was when I was in 3rd grade. My teacher that year was fired and I was mad. She was an amazing teacher and NOTHING in my eight year old perspective could have justified her being fired. I had her on a pedestal and no one could tell me any different, though I am not sure they dared try. I wrote a letter to the editor of my local newspaper and it was published. I hope to one day find a copy to review. Recently I looked up the teacher and case. Apparently the case went on for more than a decade and the teacher eventually lost. My loyalty to her is still deeply ingrained as while reading the history of the case and the various motions and appeals and their subsequent denials, I was bothered by the courts lack of ability to understand her and her unique situation as I remember it. At the same time I am hesitant to take a stand because I recognize my bias and my limited perspective based on the memories I compiled more than twenty years ago from my eight year old point of view. I seem to recall that she was in the midst of a pretty nasty divorce and battle with an abusive husband. Her reason for dismissal was being frequently tardy. The eight year old me didn't understand how this could have been such a big deal that it overshadowed how great she was at her job. Given the circumstances I felt the district could have had some grace for her situation. Though when I looked up the case, it seems that they did. On multiple occasions the district chose to postpone her dismissal in exchange for her agreement to be on time in the future and signed documents stating that if she failed to comply, she would willingly resign. She was again tardy, and at least one additional time they gave her another chance. Ultimately she was again tardy, but refused to willingly resign. The districts willingness to give her more chances indicates that they did in fact value her and her role in the school. The district was clearly in the right, right? Wrong...maybe? According to the documents they did a lot of things backwards in how they handled the dismissal. They violated her contract, public meeting laws, and even her request for the meetings to remain public and instead held them behind closed doors. Why the secrecy? This sends off some red flags for me, and throws the whole thing into questionable territory. As a divorced Native American, woman, was she being discriminated against? Was her husband wielding his power and influence to ruin her? Why the secrecy? Why did she fight it for so long if it was as cut and dried as it is presented? I will probably never know the truth about what transpired all those years ago, but I will always remember choosing to stand up when I felt it was wrong and trying with all my eight year old might to advocate for my teacher and fellow students.
Throughout my youth I often contemplated being a journalist because I enjoy digging into topics and exposing the truth. I have always loved animals and wanted to be a Veterinarian, but I'm terrible at math, so I decided after a short time at Vet Tech school, it wasn't for me. Being a critical thinker comes naturally to me and as a result I have always asked a lot of questions and that has allowed me to become at least a little bit knowledgeable about a lot of things. My friends and even casual acquaintances have always felt comfortable coming to me for information. I don't really know why, as a lot of the questions aren't specific to my life experiences. I've never needed to call a domestic abuse shelter, but several times I've been asked how it works. I've never needed to file an OFP or an HRO, but several times people have reached out to me for understanding. I've never been investigated by CPS, but several times others have sought my advice when they find themselves under the microscope. It is hard for me to understand why people don't just call and ask the places that provide these services the questions. Most of my knowledge has come from watching others go through the process or reading about it. The information is no more available to me than to anyone else, so I don't really understand why people don't just know these things or know how to find the answers on their own. I guess I have always been resourceful, even if I wasn't conscious of it and I somehow project that.
I have always been a very empathetic person. I try to view alternate perspectives whenever I can. I find it's the best way to figure out the root of the problem. This drives my husband crazy as he tends to take things at face value and that's the end of it. I crave that understanding of what makes people tick so that I can understand why they've made the choices they have. I guess you can say I've always had a person first approach to things. If you show me an addict, I am going to look for what caused the hole they are turning to drugs to fill. It is just the way I am. I don't believe in treating symptoms, I want to get to the problem and treat that! I find that is much easier to do with emotions and narratives than with physical problems.
All of these things, and more (I could keep going, and going here) are the parts of me that together have attracted me to social work. In order to finish my AA degree I needed a few elective credits and it seemed each time I was searching for an elective, those in the field of sociology were the ones I was most attracted to. I love sociology, but because I am a people person, and a bit of a fixer, a career in research wouldn't really be fulfilling to me. Social work though, allows me to have broad interests and focus areas, while working with people. A win-win. A field where I will be able to use all of these natural abilities and further develop them and gain new skills to advocate for people and to stand up for injustice. I love that as a social worker I can have an impact in so many different levels of the "system". I can work towards changing policy or organize an awareness or prevention campaign, or I can work with individuals and help them find their pain source and a path to healing it that doesn't cause more pain. It may be cliche' but I want to BE the change, or at least a part of it. I want my kids to grow up in a better world and I want them to see that change is possible.
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