Beginnings

As we begin our journey to becoming School Counselor's we are excited for the journey through the program & what lies ahead in our altruistic career. Well, until we take group, learn about Yalom, authenticity & get confused trying to determine what it means to be in the here-and-now. [Feel free to laugh now, its safe here & you're not alone]. Eventually we find ourselves, in the here-and-now, reduce our utterances during sessions, master those basic skills, survive practicum & internship & discover what our personal theory of counseling is and how it will define us as we venture towards our next beginning, a school counseling job.

This new beginning might be the scariest of all, despite the wealth of knowledge & training that has lead us to the point. Perhaps it's the scariest of all because of the unknown, not knowing how our role as School Counselor will be defined, or how we will be defined (hopefully not by the"G" word). Here too, we eventually find our way and put to use all of those tools in our tool belt, build confidence & continue to grow.

As time progresses and the "big" new beginnings fade, we learn that as School Counselor's we will always have the opportunity for "beginnings" with every student we see, every concern they share & with the start of each new school year.

We will always be tasked with advocating, not just for others, but also for ourselves, and how our role is defined. Throughout our careers we will experience excitement, fear, accomplishment and sometimes loneliness; but at the end of each day we have the opportunity to reflect (and we should), and at the beginning of each day we have the opportunity to reboot & begin again.

Our journey is long, and sometimes an immense opportunity for self acceptance, growth & development, but also a time to appreciate our great opportunity to always begin again.

Take some time this week to reflect on how you reflect at the end of each day and reboot & begin again each school day.

Our ability to allow time & space for ourselves determines our ability to live & to love in our own space.

Welcome to School Counselor Space. Please comment below on how you end & begin each day & the pros and cons associated with your methods. This is our space, this is our time.

Comments

  1. First, my 30 minute commute provides me time to begin my day and end my day. I begin by just taking in the sunrise on my drive. Traffic is the biggest con to this method. I will sometimes take the longer route to avoid the traffic. Once getting to school, I have a cup of coffee, and then try to visit with students and staff. I get a lot of energy from hearing the students say "Good morning Mr. Hardin" and seeing their smiles. Visiting with staff is also a great way to connect on a more personal level with them. I end my day with my drive and just use that time to reflect and zone out with the radio. I truly leave my work at work (or on busy days, it gets left in the car). I also end my day by visiting with students and staff again, giving my farewells until tomorrow and some days, I close my office door, dim the lights, and reflect on my day...what went well, what can I improve, what's on the docket for tomorrow, etc. I fire off a couple emails and call it a day. Schools are amazing adventures and mentally taxing as a counselor. Self-care routines are extremely vital to our success. Great post! Have a blessed day.

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  2. I wish I was able to be as "zen" as the two of you. I drive to school with my 3 elementary age kids, which I then pick up at dismissal. I'm typically greeted by a teacher or parent that "just need a minute". Can a girl take her coat off first? Geeze O'Pete's!

    I do try to reserve the first 30 minutes and last 30 minutes for phone calls/email so I'm not interrupted during the day. Turning my email notification off has really cut down on interruptions, which helps cut down on feeling like I'm getting pulled in 84 directions or how many emails I get in one day.

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    Replies
    1. Im not sure if I would call myself Zen, more like hilarious and grown-up imposture, but thanks for that feedback. :)

      I love how you begin and end your day and turning off the email notification. I really feel like that email notification pulls me in mulitple directions and make my desk time in the office less efficient. Great insights!

      Thank you so much for reading the blog and sharing.

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  3. I have tried to post a response to your comments multiple times from my ipad app, but it just does not work, so I apologize for the delay in responding to both of you.

    I too have a 1 hour commute to work, which many people think is the most aweful thing ever, but if you're a counselor that puts in a full day, you really look forward to that drive.

    I have learned a lot about how I can improve the time I spend in the car during my drive from you Tim and how I can better use the time prior to the bell from both of you. We have such an immense opportunity to connect with our students during this time, but I dont think I use it as well as I could, that will change.

    I also have been looking towards modifying how I end my day at the office, thank you for your insights on that as well.

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