Thursday, August 14, 2008

Nostalgia and Apprehension

"Some people see "social worker" as "savior"'--Shaunee, my new classmate

It's official--i'm now in grad school. I have the bag with the School of Social Work's logo and everything (we got this free--for the cost of tuition. How lovely).

I've only finished my first day of orientation (it lasts until the end of August, technically--good grief); it went ok, although I'm feeling that it's going to be just as much work as I had anticipated, which i'm not really excited about. I did get to meet some new people who are in to all kinds of awesome social work. 

We also had some great conversations about working in organizations (and I met several people with whom i'll be sure to have many satisfying rants about the state of the mental health system in NC), which kind of busted me out of my dread of the next 2 years and helped me find some things to look forward to:

  • If the bag (and the mug I already had) is anything to go by, free stuff
  • Lots of diversity and interesting conversations
  • Good teachers (even if they ARE tough, they all seemed nice and willing to hold a conversation about the future)
  • Getting to choose electives next year
  • My field placement
As Lara departs for Greenville for good tomorrow, i'm feeling extremely apprehensive about living by myself for real--although I'm feeling that, if the way I feel now is anything to go by, i'll be so exhausted I'll barely notice.  Still, another new beginning--as we walked on campus today, and saw all the freshman just starting their college journey, it made me extremely nostalgic for the four years that just passed so quickly.

I'm passing into a new stage of my life--but I don't think I'm ready.

1 comment:

Lara Newell said...

I'm not ready either. And I already miss hanging out with you, too. :(