After 20 months in an accelerated master’s degree program
And in the immortal words of a participant at my counseling internship site who would utter them triumphantly as he came by my desk at the end of every day: “I did it!” 🥳🙌🏻🎉✨
I graduated last Wednesday from the Rutgers School of Health Professions with a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling track
And I did it while also being given the Award of Excellence for Outstanding Academic performance 🙌🏻🙌🏻
In this master’s container:
I learned to surrender to learning that was out of my control
To rigorously deepen in counseling skills
To deepen further into connecting poignantly and intimately with my fellow humans, whether they were guests at the restaurant I worked at on weekends to support myself, my classmates, or the participants and clients and co-workers at my internship site
I learned to serve deeper and try harder in every realm necessary
To excel in living my values
To trust the path, no matter how overwhelming or trying it became
To continue discovering and holding the different parts of myself, who would appear as I found myself being challenged professionally, personally, and interpersonally
I also secured an addictions counseling position halfway through internship
And I began that part of the journey this week 😃
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What has remained constant during this part of my Life
Is my undying commitment to living my values, which guide and support me my on my path
The connection to the deepest part of myself sustained me on the very first night of grad school, when I was alone and stranded during hurricane Ida
That deep part of myself held me through the overwhelm of adjusting to the academic intensities of grad school
My commitment to a value of excellence enabled me to give 100% of myself to each assignment and project and internship task
Which in turn supported another value of learning, which is why I committed to the program in the first place
Kindness guided my interactions with others during this time and made it more connected and meaningful
And self-care emerged yet again as it supported me energetically as burnout became a very real threat towards the end
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A more superficial part of myself could say that I did this to prove that I could, to earn letters to put after my name, and to get a stable, respectable job
These are all valid reasons
But I completed this part of the path so that I could learn to trust myself with the sacred responsibility that I’m bound to as a counselor
And so I could live one of my greatest values,
to leave this world a better place for me having been in it
~
The person I was many years ago never would have thought this accomplishment was possible
And yet during my course of awakening, which began over 20 years ago,
I learned about myself
I learned to like and love myself and lighten up(!)
I discovered what I valued
Where I wanted to go
And I learned inner and outer skills that aided me on that journey
It hasn’t always been easy
But it’s been alive and connected and exhilarating and true
And I’m thrilled to see how the path continues to unfold ….
May you also endeavor to befriend yourself
Discover your deepest calling
Live it courageously
While holding yourself in your humanity
Much love to you always ❤️🙏🏻🙌🏻