What to do....

Well, it's been a rather difficult day.  My level II student has finished her three month rotation and here I am left to get MYSELF organized!  It's always a bittersweet event when three months have concluded.  Yes, I get to go back to life on my terms and not have to worry about anyone but my clients and myself--but every now and again I get to connect with some really amazing people who impact me on a zillion levels.  I have come to enjoy the process that is fieldwork.  The first week these students come to me full of book knowledge and anxious about "passing".  Then the process begins when I start making them interact with clients...staff...me (this can be difficult on some days!).  Sometimes I have to work to completely change the way they think about the population or the way "occupational therapy works".  They have to apply the knowledge they have to a real life client...scary!  There is usually a realization that they have their own skills to work on and their own junk to wade through.  I love the process...it's so fun to watch them blossom into therapists and if their willing into amazing people. 

Most of them look at me all crazy like when I tell them at the beginning they may have to deal with their own junk...some don't believe me...that's ok.  It's a process.  My favorite students are those who are courageous enough to start their own journey and who use it as a way of connecting with people.  I remember when I started my own journey...the wonderful people who encouraged and cheered me on...what a blessing to know that even now the process continues.  Growth in all areas of one's life can be difficult...painful even....but it's a process!  Enjoy it!

~R