Tag: Case Manager

How to get Back into Reading

How to get Back into Reading

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    If I could go back and tell my high school self that I would stop reading for fun, she would be disappointed. While growing up, I would read all the time. I constantly had a book for fun. I had friends who were avid readers, it was so much fun. Then when undergrad came, I did not have the free time like I used to. It was not until recently that I would find the joy and time for reading. I feel reconnected to my younger self’s love of books.

Undergrad was busy, I won’t lie to myself. I will also admit I stretched myself thin for the first 2 years. I felt like I had to be involved with many clubs and in many classes. I was going for music therapy my first year. That involved taking 8+ classes each semester. They would make certain classes only 1 credit hour so one would not have to pay for going over. Also, ensembles were ‘free credits’. I could not continue on with that, but that is a post for another day. It was not until my junior year that I would drop many extra curriculars. But that is when I was placing my health at the forefront. So the time I spent in extra curriculars, I shifted to working out and taking time to self care. I did not add books into the equation. I was still balancing 6-7 classes until I graduated, so the workload was intense.

When the pandemic hit, I focused on surviving a pandemic and working non stop. I was also attending grad school in the middle of this. I made it through my first semester and had a month break. I decided to read a little about spiritual topics. I was intrigued with working on my spirituality, so I read on it. This was the first time in years that I would read for myself because I was interested in a topic. Then school started back up and the cycle went back to working and school. I did not make the time for reading. 

As my previous posts have brought up, I have worked on my health, skincare, self love, and spirituality. With things slowly opening back up and vaccination numbers increasing, I felt more calm than I had since 2019. It was during this time, an old friend from high school posted on her instagram about her bookstagram page. I decided to give it a follow and support her. This was a tipping off point for my reading journey. This was one of my avid reader friends, we would trade books back and forth and talk about series. It sparked my interest in starting to read again. 

After following her, I began scrolling and found on Pinterest books to read. I started saving them to a new board. After I saw a few books pop up, I decided to get them on the kindle app. I started 2 series at once, “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas and “A Touch of Darkness” by Scarlett St. Clair. These books pulled me into new worlds and brought me joy. From there I started reading comic series and continuing those book series. I felt the same joy that I used to back in high school.

So if you were a reader when you were younger, or you were never a reader but want to start, I have a few suggestions. I suggest following bookstagram pages, booktubers, or booktok. Some really good instagram suggestions are BookishLifeofSam_, Alexandra_Roselyn, and LadyofBookShire. For booktubers, I recommend Alexandra Roselyn and How to Train your Gavin. I do not have tiktok at the moment, so I don’t know booktokers. 

Also I suggest finding the genre you love. I was always a fan of fantasy, fey, and poems. That’s why I was sucked into those book series. Back in highschool I wanted to read the classics and I never got to read them all. So I went out to a local bookstore and picked up a few. If you were never really a reader before, go to a library and pick up different genres and see what pulls you in. 

I suggest making a space for reading. I have a couple of spots for myself. While I had not read in years, when I moved into my boyfriend’s house I struggled with making it feel like our home. I found comfort in making a reading corner. It had a comfy chair, blanket, and cozy lighting. I did not use it while we lived there but I do now. Along with that, I have a spot on my couch, with my weighted blanket, and I just curl up and feel at ease. The final spot I have is my bed. This keeps me from mindlessly scrolling all evening. It helps me relax after a long day and prepare for bed. You don’t need 3 spots like I do, I just don’t like having one spot. I like to change things up and keep it fun. Start with one spot, have the things that make it comfortable. I like curling up with a blanket. Maybe you like relaxing candles while you read. Maybe you like dim lighting or candle light. Maybe you like tea, hot chocolate, coffee or no drink while you read. Make it your own place.

Make time to read. This is an important suggestion, if you do not make the time for things you like you won’t do it. I found for myself that I like reading in the evenings before bed. I take care of cleaning and taking care of my plants in the evening before I read. After I’m done doing what I need to, I put on my PJ’s and curl up with my comfiest blanket. And I just read, some nights for 15 minutes and other nights for an hour. It just varies with what else I need to get done in the evening before work the next day. 

These are a few ways of how I got back into reading. It brings so much joy in my life to read again. To get lost in a world for some time before returning to the everyday hustle and bustle. I hope you find your spot and make the time to read. I hope you find the genre that speaks to you. I hope you find the self care aspect of reading.

Body Neutrality for 2021

Body Neutrality for 2021

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Body Neutrality is a term that has crossed my radar this year. I have been in the camp of body negativity and I have dabbled with body positivity. Unbeknownst to me, I was never really content with my body. Even with all the positivity in the world, it would not take away the years of negativity and the negativity did not remove when I did feel good about myself. I was never meant to pick a side on this scale, I was meant to find a middle point. 

Body negativity was easy to pick up. It is easy to be negative when you have a society and social media showing you all the things you do not have. It is easy when you grow up with other girls who are also pointing out what they hate about their bodies. You see them as beautiful and can’t believe they would talk so poorly about themselves. Yet, here you are talking down to yourself. It takes years to even fully recognize that you are in this cycle.

Once I was in my senior year of high school, I decided I was done with the cycle. I had started the road toward body positivity. I was choosing only the clothing that made me feel good. I was doing my makeup before school. Throughout college I kept working on my mindset that I was beautiful. I learned how to love the gap in my teeth. I began smiling with my teeth showing. I loved my face without makeup and with makeup. I absolutely loved my body.

I hit a roadblock after my sophomore year of college. I was going through a hard time and going to therapy. I gained at least 10-15lbs in a short span of time. I was back into my cycle of negativity. It was like all those years of work were for nothing. It took me months before I decided to do something about it. My therapist kept telling me about the benefits of exercise within the realm of mental health. That it would be good for me. So with my boyfriend’s help, I started running. Mind you I had never worked out a day in my life before. My high school gym teachers were lucky if I half-assed something. 

It took me a few months before I liked running and working out. Once I did, I kept doing it a few times a month. I felt strong in my body. This helped me back toward the body positivity train. I was strong and I was confident in myself. I continued my work in therapy and worked on my mindset. I was back to loving myself and my body. I was positive about who I was as a person and what I would do. I was going so well.

Until I was not, when COVID hit I was one of many who gained weight. Those 10-15lbs I had lost and felt strong, were back and I was not in a good headspace. I was not concerned about the weight anymore but the headspace was not where I wanted to be. Me being me, I wanted to work toward that positive headspace again. I never realized that I had fallen into a cycle. I was going back and forth between body negativity and positivity. It was at this moment that I heard the term of body neutrality. I was watching a video by Carrie Dayton who introduced me to this term. It is the idea that you do not have to always be positive about your body nor do you need to be negative about it. Your body is just that, your body. Not a positive stimulus or a negative stimulus. That its function is to keep you alive and help you go about your day. 

This new perspective is taking some time to adjust to. I want to revert to either end of the spectrum, almost each day. But I constantly remind myself that that is not what my body is for. I’m tired of ping ponging back and forth between being so hard on my body and so positive about it. I don’t need to think of myself as a snack to provide my body with what it needs. Nor do I need to deprive my body because it is not this idealized body in society’s eyes. I do not need to worry about what a scale says about my weight. I just need to fuel it with what is good and exercise because it boosts my mood. That’s it.

Using Intention to Chase your Dreams

Using Intention to Chase your Dreams

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Throughout one’s life, people around you are constantly telling you to follow your dreams. But they never have an idea as to how to follow your dreams. Some people pick a dream, like go to college and follow what preplanned steps their high school gave to them. There is no special formula or steps on what program to choose or what school is the best for you. The counselors or your parents may provide their opinions but they have lived life through a different lens than you. Once you’re out of school there is no guide book on how to find a job or how to move up at your work. And if you are someone who has creative dreams of becoming an artist or musician rather than a neurosurgeon, it gets harder to ‘follow your dreams.” 

Regardless of if you want to be a lawyer, surgeon, musician, work in a factory, design art, or write a blog,  to do the things you want to do you need to be intentional with what you do. Intentionality relates to this idea of purposefully choosing your next step that aligns with your overarching goal. If your goal is to be a doctor, you need to be intentional with how I can learn what I need. This may look like I need scores to get into a university for pre medicine or another degree. I can not tell you which degree to go in, but if it’s done intentionally and you take the MCAT, you can apply for medical school. So a way to be intentional with this is, you sit down in all your classes and learn the material. Being intentional does not mean you memorize and regurgitate the information. Many people can memorize for a period and regurgitate, but are they living the life they want? 

Alongside that, being intentional does not mean solely a career goal. I used that example to help make this abstract concept more concrete since countries like the United States like to focus on what you do for a career. But this same idea of intentionality goes toward any passion you have in life. If you like reading, making a reading nook and time to read is being intentional. Your time is the same amount of time as anyone else. Time goes at the same pace for someone who is just punching in and punching out and the same for someone who loves the life that they live. So if you want to start a hobby like skating or knitting, start that intentionally. That does not mean that you will love the grind and the effort that it constantly takes to get better at a hobby. But if you’re going into it with an intentional mind and openness  to the hobby, you will stick with it more. 

When I started my minimalism journey, I thought it would be the same as when I ‘decluttered’ previously. In the past, I would get rid of a few pieces but kept pieces for very specific scenarios that never came through. Then I would impulse buy even more stuff than what I got rid of, so it would bring back the need to declutter again. So when I did my first official declutter on this journey, I was intentional on what I kept. I kept what made me happy, was multifaceted, and it fit. As I continue this journey, I am still going through and getting rid of anything that does not fit those boxes for me. Anything I do bring into my home or closet, it has to be done intentionally. So does it fit a purpose, does it make me happy, and is it multifaceted. 

Starting this blog, it began from a place of intentionality. I started this blog out of a passion to share what I learn in life and in graduate school. But I will be honest with you, I stopped being intentional about it. I stopped scheduling my time for what I wanted, and what I really liked to do. I stopped posting or checking up on my website. The other day, I was coming home from a friend’s house and it hit me that if I want a blog, I can not just post once a blue moon. I need to make the time and effort for this. If not, this just becomes one of those projects that get started and never finished. Which would just leave me in a place of resent or regret. Like why did I never post more? Why did I give up? What could have happened if I continued? 

So, I ask you what are you going to start being intentional about today? What is going to be the passion that you will work on and get better at? It could be doing your school work or starting to knit or starting a blog. Either way, it is best to start today and make the plans to be intentional. If that means calendar blocking, then calendar block. If that means dedicating a space for this, do that. To be intentional is to do. Not to sit with yourself and think of what could go wrong, and why you can not do something. Thinking such as that will be your downfall. What will you do intentionally today for your future self. A fitness YouTuber HopeScope, said that what you do today will be reflected back within 3 months. She was being specific with fitness and eating habits but that still applies to anything in life. If you dedicate the time starting now, you will see rewards for it in the future. But if you do not start now, you will see either the same thing in 3 months or an unhappier version of yourself. Do yourself the favor, do the things that you want to do.

What’s in my Grad School Bag

What’s in my Grad School Bag

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    Finishing up my first year, I have found what works and what does not when it comes to my grad school bag. My bag comes with me to and from work. There are some down times when the clients are in school, so I get a chance to work on homework and reading. I think I have gotten it down to still work when it comes to actually going on to campus. There has been talk of us returning to campus, since 90% of students have been online for this past year and a half. But the idea of returning on campus is for another post. 

    When it comes to my bag, the first thing is my actual bag. I have been using my Fjall Raven Kanken. I have the 14 inch laptop bag, it fits my iPad with no issues and the rest of my supplies. I currently have the green bag and soon I will be embroidering it to make it personalized. The bag works great because it evens out the weight of my stuff without hurting my back. There was a period of time when I was using a purse with a laptop sleeve. Yet, I noticed more pain in my back from going back and forth. So I went to my kanken, and noticed a shift. 

    The second most important thing is my iPad. I have the iPad Pro 2020 128 gb in space grey. With that I am able to keep my most, if not all, my textbooks digital. This keeps my paper consumption down to a minimum in grad school. I love that I am able to highlight and make notes through my iPad. I also have my note taking on the iPad. I use the app Notability, for all my notes. I use subjects and headers to divide my notes based on subject, in class, and text book. After a semester finishes up, I move my notes into a folder for the semester. I love the ability to have various pens and highlighters specific to each class. And to de-stress, I use procreate to draw.

    To go along with the iPad, I’ve got various accessories to go along with it. I used to just have a trifold case and my old Bluetooth Mac keyboard. I just recently upgraded to the magic keyboard. I bought this through amazon since it is almost $100 off, when compared to the apple site. It does add a little weight to my bag but since I’m using the Kanken, it’s well distributed. But being able to have my keyboard connected to the case is very helpful. It takes up less space and I can type while it is in my lap or on a table. Also, I have the apple pen II. I use this to do my handwritten notes. While I may be going for the most part paperless, I still recognize the research behind hand writing your notes. To help it, I use a paper like screen protector. It helps me to draw and write as if I am writing on paper. This also helps keep my paper consumption down. Because if hand taken my notes, I would’ve gone through a good amount of paper like I did in undergrad. 

    I have brought my paper consumption down, but I still like the use of a paper bullet journal. I have tried using a digital planner and a physical planner, but I like the flexibility that comes with a bullet journal. It also counts as a destressor for myself. With my bullet journal I use: a multitasky notebook, pilot g2 pen, Tul pencil and eraser, and zebra mild liners. For the first few months, I have been designing it minimally to maximize its use but with the semester winding down, I have been able to be more creative with it. Which has been beneficial for my stress as we finish out. 

    For the miscellaneous things, I still use note cards for the few tests that I have had. I also use sticky notes when it comes to my mind dumps. If I am in the middle of class and the professor references a final or a paper, I scribble it down so it’s not taking up space in my headspace. I can place the sticky notes on my wall as reminders of what I need to do without distracting myself in the middle of class.

My grad school bag is definitely different from my bag for undergrad. I find it to be more efficient and lighter than undergrad. I have used about ¾ less paper than I have in previous school years. Which feels great that I am being a little more sustainable than before. It is the little steps that help the environment in the long run. The supplies I found to work took a little trial and error. This may shift as I transition back to being on campus again. It’s been over a year and a half since I have had to walk around campus and this will be different as a commuter grad student. But I need to take it one day at a time.

What a Break Taught me.

What a Break Taught me.

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By my sophomore year of undergrad, I knew I wanted to finish early. At the start of sophomore year, it was more so due to financial concerns with my university. By the end of my junior year I was tired and burnt out. I didn’t realize that I would be so burnt out by the end of my junior year. During my 3.5 years, for the most part of my undergrad career I took at least 18 credit hours. I started out as a music major so that was the norm. When I switched majors to Psychology my sophomore year, I kept that norm. There were about 2 or 3 semesters where I only took 16 credit hours. When I told my boyfriend that I was going down to 16, he still thought I was doing a lot. While I had 6-8 classes, that wasn’t what burnt me out. If I  was just going to class then home, I think I would’ve been fine and not burnt out. Yet, I was in about 2-3 clubs my Freshman and sophomore year. I was also in my professional fraternity since the end of my freshman year. 

Balancing all of that, was exhausting. I have heard from so many friends and professors who said that junior year is typically the hardest year. Going into junior year, I was still on track to graduate early but was still balancing many clubs. I thought if I let one go, my stress and workload would go away. Alas, that wasn’t the case. Before my first semester of junior year ended, I had countless breakdowns. A turning point was when I dropped all the clubs other than my fraternity. When I say that lighted the load, I’m not even kidding. But the effects of doing all that, still left me burnt out. 

During my last semester of school, I had 5 classes and the bare minimum was needed from me for my fraternity. That was entirely different to what I was used to. So I had time to go work out and work on a research project. At this time, I was applying for Ph.D. programs (spoiler alert, I didn’t get into any. I’ll get more into that in a later blog post). The most stressful thing on my plate was applying to Ph.D. programs and finding out my plan for the inbetween. The start of this semester was a breeze. But when applications started opening up, I was stressing out all over again. When graduation rolled around, I was tired but happy with finishing undergrad. This was a huge accomplishment for a first generation college student.

When I was still in my last semester, I received an email from the Psych department about an internship opportunity. This internship was for a residential facility in the area. I thought I would send in my information, then go in and ask for a job rather than an internship. I didn’t want to take away the internship opportunity from a current student. Right before going to the facility, I printed out my resume and brought it in my purse. They had a group q&a for 3 internship applicants. I met with the lead therapist and program director. While we waited for the director, I was talking with the therapist about my experience at my last job. I worked in another residential facility with a different population. For confidentiality of my work, I will not specify the populations or age group. At the end of the q&a, they asked if we had any questions. I pulled every ounce of courage and explained; I am about to graduate and wanted a job. I gave them my resume and thanked them for everything.

A couple of weeks later, I sent them an email asking about any updates regarding my job request. I was told I wouldn’t need an interview and that I could come in and talk specifics. Mind you, I am normally very anxious when it comes to meeting new people and speaking up. They originally offered me a Residential Case Manager job/residential specialist. Meaning I would balance a case load and running groups every other weekend. If there was not enough case management, then I would be on the unit with the clients. They allowed me to take the rest of December off to celebrate graduation. This allowed me to spend time with my parents before moving in with my boyfriend who lives in the area of my undergrad and now work. 

The first month was me just training to be a case manager. By the end of my second month there, I met productivity which allowed me to shift to full time Residential Case Manager. Starting off, I loved working full time. I loved working with my clients and even though running weekend groups can get rough, it still is nice. This was different than going to 6-8 classes, a couple of clubs, and balancing relationships. Things were going smooth for a few months, even though I got rejected from Ph.D. programs. 

Then we ran into the issue of the pandemic and I kept hitting walls with my clients. I didn’t know how to best help them. So I would be going in circles with my supervisor aka the lead therapist. I would ask how to best help a certain problem and how to work with certain clients. My supervisor has taught me a lot of information in the 6 months that I have been at my work. I learned about using a token system for my younger client and ways to communicate with older clients. I took a free course about motivational interviewing that my supervisor found for me. That course was very insightful and definitely shifted how I interact with some clients. Some of the information that I’ve learned while working, I never learned in my undergrad experience.

But there are still times when I get stuck and by the time I talk to my supervisor, it feels like it’s too late. The client has moved onto what their current issue is that week. So I’m in this weird limbo of what to do. My boyfriend has been lending ear to all of my concerns and supported me when I was rejected. My boyfriend asked about what I thought regarding a master’s program. I had a friend who suggested applying to a Ph.D. and master’s program at the same time but I couldn’t afford that at the time. I spent a few days thinking and researching. Yet, many applications were closed because most students apply by February. I originally shifted to full online programs. Thankfully, I went back to my supervisor for her advice. She knew the director of a MSW program that was a hybrid program. She emailed her, and I was allowed to apply by the end of May. 

This is the program that I am currently enrolled in. And my job offers tuition reimbursement which is a blessing. This will keep me from going even further in student debt. I am grateful for the break from school that I have been given so far. This break has taught me so much about myself and about my clients. At the same time, it left me yearning for more school. I want to learn different ways of helping my current clients and my future clients. By keeping my current job this allows me to keep learning my clients and learning things outside of class. But by going to school, this will give me more knowledge to pull from. This will allow me to be more creative with working with clients. This break has refreshed my love of learning and I never thought that would happen.

Why a MSW program?

Why a MSW program?

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As I started this blog post, I had to take a moment and really think of what was motivating me to go for a masters. When I was in undergrad, one of the best pieces of advice was “Graduate school is hard. But that spark that you feel in you now, remember that when things get tough. That will push you through Grad school.”

That spark I felt was right around when I was talking about working with people. I was talking to a girl who came to my sophomore seminar course to talk about getting a masters in counseling. She said that to me when we sat in a Panera while I asked a million questions about grad school. She has somewhat of a similar situation I find myself in now. She had taken a break from school and worked as a case worker in the area. After a year, she went back for counseling. Whereas I am here after a few months going into a social work program.

Starting as a case manager right after undergrad, there have been many times where I don’t know how to reach my clients or talk to my clients. I have had to think on my feet or wait until I could talk to my supervisor. It’s frustrating when I prefer to go on my own and figure out solutions. But then I run into the issue of not really reaching my clients. Also, I would like to reach a point where I could become a therapist. I think it would be great to start a private practice one day. I have played around with that idea for a few years. Yet, I need to get more into the field and get more experience. So by going back for my masters, will allow me to have 3 different internships. This will grant me more experiences with working with people and more problem solving skills. Throughout this program, I think it will help me with my current caseload and future case loads.

By going through a part time program, it will allow me to continue working full time. If I had dropped my work hours to part time, then I would be going to full time school. But financially I am comfortable at working full time. I can pay my car, my groceries, bills, and have a little spending money. I have had this comfortable financial level for the past 6 months. The last thing I want to do is restrict my quality of life for a degree. I am a strong believer in self care and a form of self care is financial self care. Throughout my undergraduate degree, I had a budget of $100 per month. I will admit my parents paid for my cost of living on campus. I had no car and no bills. I had to finance my groceries and if I went out. So to have the opportunity to work full time and pay for my current lifestyle, I do not want to revert back to where I was. I want to continue being self-reliant in the financial world. I want to hold my own and continue moving forward.

At this point in time, I do not know if I will stop my formal education at a master’s program. Throughout undergrad, I knew I wanted to continue on to graduate school. But I’m still playing around with the idea of eventually going back for a Ph.D. I will be flexible with my goals. I do not know where the master’s will take me. I don’t know if I’ll be burnt out from formal education and need a break for a few years. We will see where these next 3 years take me. The only thing I know at the moment, the masters feels like a step in the right direction. I recognize that it’s going to be hard but as long as I remember my spark, I think I can do it. 

Sincerely,

Semita ❤