As of March 11, 2012

Hey guys, enjoy this while you read.  It's called "For all the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti."  I know not everyone is big on banjo, but this is beautiful

Hey guys, I just wanted to give you all an update on life lately.  It's been kind of lackluster.  I have been hanging out, enjoying my last bit of free time until I graduate in December.  It's been boring, but overall, pretty nice.  I've worked hard my whole life, so it's nice to relax and not worry for once.  That's all coming to an end March 19th.

I begin my first two classes.  One class is called Intro to Human Services.  What I can tell from looking at the book, is that it's about: ethics, morals, and what to do with people who experience: substance abuse, child abuse, are elderly and need care, and adoption.  It looks like it will be a very informative and interesting class about the world of Human Services.  My second class this semester will be Human Growth and Development.  It looks like we'll be talking about everything that happens physically and mentally in a person from birth until death.  My semesters are 8 weeks long, so I'll be done May 11th, and three days later my summer semester will start.

This will be really good for me, as I said in this post, I always need to be learning something to feel like I'm doing something good with my life.  It'll be really good to be actively making myself smarter and more useful.

In other news, I'm looking for a part time job.  Before I decided to go back to school, I had applied to nearly 40 professional jobs.  I got really discouraged, but through all that, I realized that I needed to get another degree to get where I need to.  For the first time in a month, I've applied to several jobs.  I applied to Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, La Petite Academy, Aqua Tots, Intercept Youth Services and as a Tutor for Richmond Public School.  As you can tell, I'm clearly open to several different jobs.  I'm not really looking for a career at the moment, just something to make some money and fill time that I'm not doing schoolwork.  Every now and then I look to see what a Master's Degree in Human Services can get me, and I'm always happy to see hundreds of jobs to choose from.

Things are looking up!  If you can help me find a job, let me know!

Where to from here?

I'll be honest, life has been hard lately.  Despite what I said in this post, some days I really don't feel a reason to get out of bed.  Don't get me wrong, I love life and all its fullness.  I have hope that this will pass.

I'm in that awkward stage of life, somewhere between childhood and adulthood.  I have spent about 20 years of my life in school.  Adjusting to life outside of school is difficult, because that's all I know.

I loved the fulfillment that learning brings.  I always felt like I was bettering myself.  I know, that for the rest of my life, I will always be learning something new.

So, here is where I'm at right now.  As my other post said, everything is in God's hands.  The problem is, the places God wants me to be, I can't get to unless I do more schooling.  Now, God is all powerful, and can get me those jobs if He wants, but sometimes He makes us do the hard things.  At the moment, I might be applying to do online college courses to get a Master of the Arts in Human Services.  The school that is looking most promising is Liberty University Online.  This would only take 3 semesters and at the end I will receive a Master of the Arts in Human Services with a concentration in Marriage and Family.

This is hard thing to go forward with, because it will be more work than I've ever done in my life and it will add roughly 15,000 more dollars to my student loans debt.  The great things are: that I will have a Master's degree, I will have infinite jobs options, I will push my intellectual limits and I will have learned new things.

All of the jobs in the field I'm going into want you to have a Bachelor of the Arts in Human Services or Social Work.  Some jobs allow a Bachelor's degree plus 2 or more years of experience, and no one is willing to give me the experience.  The plus side to getting a Master's degree is that, other than experience, I'll be more qualified than a lot of other social workers in regards to education.  Also, don't forget I'm bilingual.  This could open so many doors.

The classes look super interesting:

CORE COURSES (18 hours)
HSER 500 Introduction to Human Services
COUN 502 Human Growth and Development
COUN 506 Integration of Psychology and Theology
HSER 508 Studies in Interpersonal Communications
HSER 509 Multicultural Issues in Human Services
HSER 511 Group Dynamics

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY COGNATE COURSES (12 hours) 
COUN 5011 Counselor Professional Identity Function and Ethics
COUN 5051 Counseling Techniques and the Helping Relationship
COUN 601 Marriage and Family Counseling I
COUN 603  Premarital and Marital Counseling

TOTAL CREDIT HOURS   30 

This looks like a great opportunity, please just pray that I'm seeking God's will and not my own.  I know God has big plans for me and I'm just worried that I won't follow His leading.  Let me know what you think.