Thursday, May 22, 2008

Hi I'm Sara, and I'm a therapist

That's how I get to introduce myself now. I got a job today at Arden Shore Child and Family Services, I'm going to be a therapist/case manager at one of their group homes for foster kids. I'll have a caseload of 7 kids age 11-15 that I'll do individual and group therapy with, and I get to go to all their school meetings, DCFS meetings, and testify for them in court. I'm pumped about the job, it's exactly what I wanna do. I've dreamt of being a therapist for adolescents since I was 16 years old. It's kinda surreal I've actually made it; my dream came true. Crazy.

However, the one downside is that the job is in Waukegan, IL, about 45 minutes north of where I live now, which is already in a suburb north of the city. So achieving my dream of being a therapist inadvertantly shattered my other dream of living in the city, 'cause there's no way I could handle that commute. I was really looking forward to being in the city so I could be around people my own age again and in walking distance of bars and trains and dance studios. So I'm a little worried about what this job is gonna do to my social life. I'm already kinda isolated in the suburbs, and the three friends who live near me are either moving away or getting married and having a baby within the next few months, so then I'll be even more alone. Is the cool job worth being lonely and isolated in the suburbs? Sometimes I wonder if I might be happier living in the city and just taking a job at jamba juice for a year. But no, saving the children is more important than my need for fun and friends. That's what I keep telling myself :-/

5 comments:

Thom said...

Congratulations!!! And I'm so glad it's exactly what you've been wanting to do all these years. You deserve it. I know you'll do a terrific job too.

Woo hoo! If I have kids, will they be troubled enough to need your help? OK, that's a terrible thing to say, but if they did, I'd totally send them to you (of course, I'm guessing that means I'd be abusive, negligent, or otherwise not there as a parent, in which case, that sucks).

As for Waukegan, once the gas goes down, I'll visit you if you're losing touch. (Although, that's probably not saying much considering gas these days...) Keep in touch on the blog regardless! Cheers!

Michael said...

Congrats Sara!

Let me impart one piece of wisdom someone told me.

"It's better to work to live, than to live to work".

While it's important to have a job you want to do and even enjoy to an extent, if the rest of your life suffers as a result is it really worth it?

Also, you didn't tell us that Thom was moving away and pregnant! Details, girl!

Brad said...

Go Sara!

If this is the job you want you should try it out. There is nothing that says you can't quit if doesn't work out.

Also, you could gain some experience in this position that might make you more qualified for a bigger & better job!

shinysara said...

Thanks for the moral support everyone, I'm starting to feel much better about the job situation. I'm kinda excited about it now, I think the job's gonna be awesome professionally, it'll give me a lot of great experience, so it'll be worth dealing with the commuting for a year or so, and then I can move on. wooo!

Unknown said...

When do you start?

I'm very happy to hear that your job search is over for now. It's the armpits. Maybe within a month I'll be able to tell you that I got the job at Lincoln Park High School and we'll be closer to each other.

I agree with everything Mike and Brad said. Try it out and you can always get another job. But if it's intruding on your life, then it may be time to consider something that won't take up so much of your life every day. If you're like me, commutes just drive you nuts. They're a total waste of time, not to mention the cost now, too.

So I hope you really like it and have stories to tell us about the professional therapist world.