Everything happens for a reason.
I didn’t always want to do Social Work.
I have a brain programmed for social work. One of the most important aspects in the social work field is cultural competencies. We study this our entire career in attempts to understand other cultures outside of our own to the best of our abilities. We do this in order to give the best care possible. I am beyond grateful to have been given the opportunity first hand to immerse myself into another culture and not only study but, experience another culture outside of my own. After spending my second full week in my internship, I see more and more how our culture differs. In American culture, there are clear rules of what is considered appropriate and what isn’t. A student is a student, the teacher is the teacher, and each party is treated as such. Here at San Rafael, the teachers are like family and the students are like their children. I got to witness this first hand at the school’s graduation on Thursday. The children were treated like children. The teachers were just as emotional as the parents. There were hugs and kisses for all and tears shed for many. I am grateful to see this, as this one event gives insight into an entire culture and how their norms differ from mine.
When I was 7, I loved the ocean. I can’t remember what sparked this but, I know I fell in love fast and hard. I researched dolphins and whales for fun. I did my 3rd grade science project on baleen. I know somewhere in here my love for turtles was so immense, that I got a turtle tattoo when I turned 18. I thought I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I thought Marine Biology was my calling. That was until I took Biology at 14 and hated it.
This weekend we got to take a short trip to Nerja, Spain. We hopped in the van at 10am and after a few hours of driving, we arrived at one of my favorite places, the ocean. After setting into our hotel we were off to the beach. I have wanted to visit the Mediterranean since I can remember and all of a sudden we were there laying on my towel, staring at the sea I had always dreamed of. The sun was warm and the breeze was cool, everything was perfect.
When I took my first psychology class at 15, I thought I had found something perfect for me. A passion for something that I could learn about forever. The human brain. How could this not be what I wanted to do? I was definitely meant to do this. Psychology soon turned to psychiatrics, and this sparked an interest in medicine. I applied to a vocational program so I could receive my CNA and I got in. I was working as a CNA at 17 and couldn’t see myself doing anything besides nursing for the rest of my life. I had gotten a taste for the profession and I wanted more. I applied to nursing programs and I ended up at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine as a nursing major in the fall of 2017.
After we laying on the beach for a few hours the sun made us hungry. Here I got my first taste of Paella. It was delicious and better than I could have ever imagined. Rice, chicken and seafood all together, as I sipped my tinto de verano and stared out at the ocean. I was truly relaxed for the first time in a long time. Soon after eating we raced back to the beach and I couldn’t wait to get in the water. The waves crashing on the shore and I ran in head first.
In the fall of 2017, I was 18 years old. I started a new life and a new adventure. However, I didn’t let my nerves get the best of me. I made some great friends my first couple of days at Saint Joe’s.
The water was cold at first but when I got used to it I was having a great time. I was like a kid again. Jumping into the waves, diving under the water, splashing with some new friends. I was having so much fun I hadn’t noticed how big the waves were really getting. A giant wave soon got the best of me.
However, real life hit me quickly. One of my best friends was killed in a car accident my first week of freshman year.
The wave pulled me under, spinning my world upside down. I was disoriented and came shooting to the surface gasping for air.
Within the first couple weeks I knew nursing was not the right fit for me.
Just as I was able to breathe again, another wave pulled me under again. As I shot up again choking on the salt water of the mediterranean sea I was screaming for my new friends, to see if they had seen what had just happened to me. I looked over to see that the waves had knocked them over too just not at the same time I had gone under. We laughed as the water had bested all of us, as we kept swimming for the remainder of our time.
With the help and support of my new friends I was able to keep going and ended finding the perfect fit for me. In December, 2017 I officially change my major to social work.
After the beach we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. We then drove to Frigiliana, a city with such beauty it looked straight out of a movie.
The drama in my life hadn’t stopped there. My freshman year of college was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. Full with the building of new relationships and crumble of old ones.
The next morning we drove to Cordoba, to see the ruins of a city from the 9th century. The sight was amazing. There was an array of structures that had stayed standing after all this time next to scattered remains of a city that once was. After this historic sight we soon drive to the next one. The Cordoba Mosque-Cathedral. This was first a church, then a mosque was built directly on top of it. Throughout history the mosque grew bigger and bigger until it was the second largest mosque in the world. Eventually with the fall of muslim rule, a Cathedral was built in the center of the Mosque and church services are held there today.
I soon got into the swing of things. I got a full time job, my grades improved, I let go of toxic relationships and put real effort into those worth keeping. I built the life I wanted for myself. I signed up for events that pushed me out of my comfort zone from a week in a different state at spring break work fest, to an internship in Granada, Spain.
I am so lucky I got to have this experience and I continue to be grateful everyday. Grateful to be here, grateful to be a part of this adventure and grateful everything in life has lead me here.
My experiences lead me here.
