Date: 2005-03-19
To: Who I am
Miles today: 0.0

I just realized that this is my third journal entry and I haven't really spent much time talking about who I am. I know I put some stuff down on my "about" page but I didn't really go into detail. So here it goes...I am 28 and single and live with my sister, Kimberly, who is 25, and a roommate, Saira (you say her name Sy-ra) who is also 25. We live in Woodstock, GA which is about 25 minutes north of Atlanta. Well, I say 25 minutes but I also drive fast so maybe its more like 35 minutes. I have lived here since birth. I graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2002 with a degree in Psychology. From there I went to work at Ridgeview Institute, a psychiatric hospital with people of all ages. I eventually went to full time on the adult unit and loved it! I did that for about 10 months. The only down side was that I worked the evening shift from 3pm until midnight and never got to see my friends and family who worked during the day like most Americans. I then decided to apply for a position on the adolescent program working day shift. I got the job and realized that working with kids is where it's at! The adolescent program accepts children (ages 4 to 12) and adolescents (ages 13 to 17). I never thought in a million years that I would like working with kids but I have actually learned so much about myself through them. They see life on much simpler terms which is needed from time to time. While there I was fortunate enough to hear of another adolescent program called Second Nature Wilderness Program. Apparently SNWP was starting up a new branch in Blue Ridge (the original one is in Utah) and I found out about it through one of the psychiatrists who was considering this program for one of his patients. Me, a person who loves counseling and the outdoors, thought this sounded like the coolest idea ever, joining therapy and wilderness, and had never heard of such a thing. I looked them up on the internet and saw that they were looking to fill some field instructor positions. It took me three months to finally get up the nerve to call them! The job just sounded that awesome to me and I didn't want to get let down when I didn't get it. However, I did call and the guy I spoke with was very down to earth (imagine that, a guy that works at a wilderness program who is down to earth...who'd of thought). I was asked to come up for a week of training/observation. After the week was over everyone in my training was hired! I could not have been happier! My new schedule would be to work at SNWP from Tues. to Tues. and then work at Ridgeview during my off time (Wed. to Mon.). I kept my job at Ridgeveiw for a while but eventually had to quit...I was just too worn out after being in the woods for a week to come home and work on my off days. See, SNWP is in Clayton, GA and its about 2 hours north of Atlanta which is where Ridgeview is located. So every week I was driving up and down and it just wasn't worth it. I have now been at Second Nature for almost a year and while I have worked there week in and week out and have grown so much as a person. Being in the woods away from the world as most of us know it (I say that because there is so much more out there than just the everyday hustle bustle; cell phones, fast cars, big houses and big paying jobs) and away from loved ones can really open your eyes to what is important. Life and living. Being in love and being loved. Happiness. Health. Relationships. These are the things that are irreplacable and often taken for granted. I feel fortunate to have learned this at such a young age and try my hardest to keep them in mind everyday. Well, I guess that is basically everything in a nutshell...I'm sure there will be much more to learn about me as the months go on.