So today was my first day of practicum, unexpectedly.
Last Friday I finished the interviewing process and made my list of where I wanted to go, while my interviewers also made a list of who they liked. Unfortunately when I met with my program director before turning the paper in, she told me to cross off two of the schools (that happened to be work-study funded) because she didn't think I would a) like being there or b) get the experience I was looking for. She recommended another I had interviewed with. She said it would be the best site to really learn what an effective guidance office does, working off the model for the national associate of school counselors etc. So I ranked it #1. I was worried because it was a pretty popular spot- a lot of people wanted it.
Around 8 pm on Friday I found out they took me (and two others)! So, luckily they must have liked me! I went to bed on Sunday night, checked my email this morning, and saw the district guidance director (an alum of the PSP program) wanted us there at 11 today, until my class at 4. So much for finding a job today. Luckily I did all my week's reading last week, minus one assignment that I did after I got out of class tonight.
First day at practicum (a site we'll call MHS) was good. I got a free planner!! More on that later. Then I came back to campus and went to my Childhood Trauma class where we talked about how high levels of cortisol (released in your body's stress response) can become chronic when exposed to chronic trauma (aka child abuse, etc.) and how the cortisol actually biologically changes the brain and stunts brain growth so that people who have chronic trauma experiences have fewer synapses. They usually develop a chronically high cortisol level even after the chronic trauma ends because their body was so used to it being high that it considered a high level as the new baseline. So, in short, chronic childhood trauma can screw you up for the rest of your life, not just emotionally, but by biologically altering your brain development. That's happy!
I went to the library with Molly to do a reading, and then went to leave. Another girl in the program gave me the number for the Harvard van service.
This is really the point of my post.
I called, the man told me about the service and asked where I wanted to be picked up and where I was going. He took my phone number and said he'd call when my turn came in the line-up of calls. I got a call about 15 minutes later saying the van was on its way and asking me to make my way to the exit. The van picked me up, and a very nice man made conversation with me [he grew up around the corner from where I live and Cambridge is very safe- the crime rate is at a 40 yr low] while he drove me right to my front door.
It. Was. Glorious. I came in and had to tell my roommate all about it- I was THAT happy.
So, you know, $38,000 tuition = free meals and a tote bag during orientation + free van rides home every night (between the hours of 7 pm and midnight). I take the perks where I can get them.
-mollie
p.s.- This means mom, you can stop worrying about me getting attacked on the sidewalk and dragged into some basement lair on my way home at night. And I don't have to pay $1.75 to take the (public transportation) bus!
And now I shall go to bed because it's cold and rainy and I have classes all day tomorrow!
5 comments:
I'll be interested to know if on a night when it is snowy and cold and you call the van service the response will be "the wait time is 2.5 hours." Maybe you could get them to drive you to the grocery store too.
Wonderful! And if you keep posting after every class, I can get a Harvard education too. Still, I think you and your roommates should post emergency contact information for each others' families just in case there is ever a problem. And I would like their cell phone numbers, if they don't mind.
...when mom says "post", I'm sure she means "disclose in a private location, not broadcast over the internets"
To Megan:I meant put it up on her refrigerator. That way if something ever happens they will know who to notify. Like the other day when she was walking home from church and cut Dad off and said she'd call back later. She never did and Dad was afraid she had never made it home. I, on the other hand, have figured out that you and Mollie only call when you're bored (or need something) and I just figured she was no longer bored so she didn't call back but then right at bedtime Dad said he was concerned about Mollie and I decided that now I wasn't going to be able to sleep until I knew she was home safely. (Dad, despite his concern, would be snoring within minutes) She did not answer her phone, which could mean the phone was dead, she didn't hear it or she didn't answer it because she had been dragged into someone's basement lair on her walk home. If I had been very worried I could have called one of her roommates (if I had their numbers) and asked if she was home. Or, they could have called us (if they had our number) to tell us she never made it home if they had our number.
Someday, when you have non-canine children, you will understand the worry that kids cause. In the meantime, you may continue to mock.
Ok, let's stop the discussion about me being dragged into basement lairs... besides my own.
Thank you.
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