“Drew, have you ever considered becoming a therapist?”
I’ve been asked this many times over the years.
One month from today - on March 21, 2022 - I will actually start that process.
I am now a graduate student in a clinical mental health counseling program. Classes start in a month. I could not be more excited about this. I don’t even want to tell you when I got my undergraduate degree from the School of Architecture at the University at Buffalo. If you see me on video, you can see the grey in my beard, so it’s been a minute or two.
Even all these years after graduation from UB, I still miss being a student. I love to learn. I love the process and act of learning. It’s all just super fun to me. The fact that I now get to learn more about the topic I was clearly put on this planet to help with is just amazing and astounding to me. I’m a lucky guy by all measures.
I’m also up against some serious challenges. The extended “break” between undergrad and graduate school means I’ve gotten a bit rusty when it comes to academically oriented reading and writing. When I got accepted to the program this past Fall, I had to come to grips with the fact that my schedule has to change to accommodate coursework and studying. I’ve had to really make some serious choices with regard to how much time I have in any given day and how I want to spend that time. Quite a bit has had to change to prepare for this, and quite a bit will continue to change.
But what fun is life without challenge? So here I go.
From time to time I’ll keep you guys updated on interesting things I’m learning about. I’ll talk about how I’m handling the increased demands on my time and therefore the increased stress level. I’ll fill you in on how I’ve been able to use lessons I learned in recovery to make all the changes that needed to be made for all of this to happen.
Maybe you’ll be interested in those posts, or maybe not. But I figure if I can’t share the experience then I’m ignoring one of the primary reasons that I’m having the experience to begin with. As this journey helps me, I’ll see if I can turn it into something that helps you too. I get to nerd out on things I love, I wind up as a credentialed therapist when its all over, and maybe you get some insight and information that will help you move forward at the same time.
Winning! Just the way I like it.
☕️ ☕️ ☕️ ☕️
Speaking of lessons learned in recovery, tomorrow I’ll kick off a series of posts where I talk about the lessons I learned in my recovery, and how I use them in my life even today.
Hey it’s Monday and that means that today at 2 PM Eastern I’ll do my “Recovery Monday” livestream on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Come join in!
36. Grad School Starts In One Month!