For my first job shadow, I decided to go to Unique Design here in Caldwell to see what cosmetologists do. I got to watch Mandi Vanek, Taylor Clarr, and Michael Nulik. I decided to go there because ever since I was a little girl I loved doing hair. I’m always the one people come to when someone whats their hair braided or curled. When I was at Unique Design, I watched Mandi give women perms, Taylor color, cut, and style hair, give a pedicure and manicure, add eyelash extensions. I even got to put some highlights in someone's hair which was exciting. Throughout the day I asked questions while I observed; I learned a lot about the business behind cosmetology. I learned how difficult it really is to start out in the hair industry because you have to find your own customers, which is something I never even thought about. When talking to all of the women there, I learned that cosmetology isn’t as glamorous as it is made out to be and it is actually a lot of hard work. Although spending most of the day there was fun and educational, it made me realize cosmetology was not something I could see myself pursuing. When doing my second job shadow, I was determined to do something that involved helping people. Since my freshman year of high school, I knew I wanted to do something that involved social science. I decided I wanted to look into Social Work which was one of my top recommendations on Career Cruising. This didn’t surprise me because they were all careers I would enjoy. I knew that these kind of jobs would be hard to shadow, so I decided to ask a Child Therapist, Michelle Stafford, if I could interview her and get a look around the place she worked which was Sumner Mental Health (SMH) in Wellington. When talking to her, I learned so much more about what it is that she does and now have a way better understanding of how all the people at SMH have to work together with lots of things that they do. When talking to her, she told me that she has a Masters in Social Work degree (MSW). I found that very interesting because I didn’t realize how much you could actually do with a MSW. I learned about what a day in her life would look like, how her schedule varied, that she has to fill out paperwork, and sometimes has to attend court. When she was showing me around the facility, she showed me the play room where she sometimes takes her younger patients to play. The room was so colorful, and the walls had these creative paintings on them which made me think about art therapy. I have always loved drawing and painting, so this was really intriguing to me. We started talking about art, which was when told me Emporia State University has a really good Art Therapy Program. She actually loves to paint so sometime she will paint with patients. Overall, this was my favorite job shadow, and I now have a better understanding of how much she really does and realized there is so much variation in her work.
Career Report
In the middle of my freshman year of high school, I moved in with my aunt and uncle. When I moved in, I realized what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I knew what I really wanted to do was to help people, to have the power to be able to change someone’s life even if it’s just by doing the smallest thing for someone. Volunteering to help others is something I really love doing because once you do, there is nothing better than the feeling of their gratitude. I decided to do some research and came to the conclusion that I want to become a social worker. When doing more and more research about social work, it became clear that it was exactly for which I was looking for. It really struck me when I realized that I wasn’t the only one to have family issues and how lucky I was to have my aunt and uncle. Realizing that some people out there don’t have anyone and have way worse problems is really what got me thinking about social work. Being able to help the less fortunate is something I know I want to do because I know what it’s like to have a chaotic family with issues, and no one should have to go through such a poor life. I found that the requirements for this career includes having a bachelor’s or a master’s degree. It will take five to seven years for me to complete school. After going to school, I will have to take an exam to get my social work license. The exam fee is $260 at clinical level and $230 at master’s level. I would also like to attend Oklahoma State University. If I attend OSU, I will have to pay for out of state tuition which will be about $11,887.50 a semester. I plan to apply for lots of scholarships to help get me through college. There are different branches of social work; I’m not sure what branch I will pursue. I want to be able to try places such as hospitals, agencies, departments, etc. out and find a place where I fit. I know that when going in to social work I will have to take psychology and sociology classes. I have already taken an intro class to psychology through Cowley College, and I am currently taking sociology. When I get my social work licenses (if I decide to work somewhere in Kansas), I will be paid $43,619 on average annually. When completing my Career Cruising Matchmaker, the career matches were jobs such as social work, adoption counselor, therapist, psychologist, and addiction counselor. All of these jobs sound great to me; they are all related in a way, and I am passionate about all of them. Social work is a little bit of everything, which is why I think it is what I want to do. Sometime in my life I would love to move to New York or some other major city. I know this is a big dream of mine, and it might not happen. I could hate it there; I don’t know. If I were to move to New York, social workers there are paid on average $60,561. I know that living in New York is a lot more expensive; a two bedroom apartment is about $3,692 per month in the Manhattan area and about $1,638 in the New York metro area. Overall, I don’t know where I will live when I finish college or where I will want to work as a social worker, but it’s always great to have hard-to-reach goals to obtain.
Reflective Essay Life Ever After
When I was younger, I never thought everything could change in a blink of an eye, or at least I never thought it could happen to me until I experienced it. What I am about to explain is the day when my whole life changed. I had to overcome a challenge that has forever changed me for the better. I was a freshman in high school when I realized my mother had a real problem. I always knew there was something she struggled with but nothing I fully understood. One day my sister Chloe and I went to Wichita with our mother. I remember stopping at a gas station where my mother gave someone money and in return she got a bunch of pills in a little baggie. On our way home my mother thought she lost this bag. I still vividly remember when she pulled over on the side of the road and started screaming at Chloe and me like it was our fault the pills were missing. After yelling and freaking out, she found them in the crack between the console and seat. That year had already been difficult before this day, but I didn’t realize the severity until later that night. Kennedy and Kassidy, my other two sisters, weren’t even living with us at the time. They were staying at my psychotic step dad’s house with his new girlfriend. This breaks my heart to this day. My baby sisters are only in elementary and have already been through so many traumatic events. I wasn’t in the best shape myself, freshman year was by far one of my worse years as a person. I still don’t like the person I was then. My mom never paid any attention to me or my sisters. I would go weeks without seeing her or even talking to her. If she wasn’t passed out dead asleep in her room, she would be gone. This was when I started to leave without telling her. I didn’t really care about my grades or pay attention in class. I would stay up late and overall, just do whatever I wanted because she was never there to stop me. This, however, was also bad for my older sister Chloe. That year she was supposed to do online schooling, but she decided to stop going to school completely. Because she wasn’t going to school my mom was served with court papers. The problem with this was that every time our local cop came to give my mom the papers she wasn’t home. Later in the day when we got back from Wichita, my mother dropped Chloe and me off and then headed to Ark City to go grocery shopping. When night came around, it was just my younger sister Kylie and me at home a little after ten on a school night. I was in bed about to fall asleep when I heard a knock on the door. I was shocked when I came downstairs because it was a police officer yelling at my sister. I remember seeing Kylie there at the door crying. I asked what was going on, he replied “I have been coming by all day to talk to your mother and she hasn’t been here. If an adult isn’t here in 15 minutes I am calling DCF (Department of Children and Families).” This was when I started to panic. He went back out to his car and I immediately picked up the phone and called my mom, who conveniently didn’t answer. I then called my grandma, my aunt Tammy, my aunt Jo, and my father, but no one answered. The next person on my list was my best friend and cousin who did answer. She went to wake up my aunt Tammy who then called my aunt Jo. When I finally talked to my mother she hadn’t even left Ark City, but said she would be on her way. My aunt Tammy and aunt Jo came over to my house. My father happened to call me back a little bit later so he showed up as well. When they all arrived, I stayed inside with Kylie while they talked to the police officer. It was getting late by the time their conversation was finally over. My mother still wasn’t home, so it was Kylie, aunt Jo, aunt Tammy, my father, and me all standing in my kitchen. My father informed us about how when my mother isn’t home we are supposed to go stay at his house. Keep in mind that we hardly ever even talked to him anymore because he was in a bad place. My father kept going on about all the things my mother had done wrong and said we were going to go home with him. My aunt Tammy stepped in and started yelling at him because she had enough, and she hardly ever yells. She said it wasn’t just solely my mother's fault and my father wasn’t all that innocent either. In response he turned around, slammed the door shut, and drove away without a word. After my father left, we went and sat in the living room until my mother got home. When my mother got home things only became worse as the fighting began. My aunts could tell my mother wasn’t all there and that she must be on something. I remember they were all in the kitchen screaming at each other, cursing, and calling each other names. It was bad; my mom kept denying the allegations of her being on something. I knew I had to step in and tell them what had happened earlier in the day, but I was scared. It was very challenging for me, and I didn’t quite know why. I knew telling them was the right thing to do because she hadn’t been acting like herself this past year. Most days she would be totally out of her mind, but I would just ignore it. Finally, I decided to tell them. I remember stepping in and saying, “Stop lying Mom! You bought pills this afternoon from someone at a gas station.” After this I immediately started crying, and then my aunt Jo really started to freak out. They were so shocked. My aunts then began yelling at my mom more. My aunt Jo turned to me and Kylie and told us to go pack our bags because we were going with her it was around two or three in the morning, and I had to convince Kylie to come because she was refusing to leave, and I still don’t know why. I, on the other hand, was so ready to leave because I knew my mom would be so mad at me. I ran upstairs and starting packing right away. Kylie finally came around at the last minute when my aunt Jo asked if we were ready. This night was one of the worst nights ever, and I had to go to school the next day with puffy eyes because I had been up all night crying. Everyone kept asking me what had happened and tried to talk to me or hug me. I honestly hate when people do this. I know they are just trying to make me feel better, but it just makes me feel worse. All day people just gave me a pity look and treated me as if I were fragile. Chloe never was home that night. She was staying a friend's house because she practically lived there that year. This was when my sisters and I were split up. Now, Kylie and I are still living with my aunt Jo and uncle Scott. Kennedy and Kassidy tried living with my mother two years or so later, but it didn’t work out. My mother has a disease in which she just can’t seem to overcome. Now, Kennedy and Kassidy are so happy living with my cousin Amanda and staying part time with my grandma. I am so grateful for the supportive and loving family I have. My sister Chloe moved in with my aunt Tammy and uncle Cory. She went back to school and graduated. She is now in college, doing better than I have ever seen. She is a completely new person thanks to the move. It wasn’t the easiest transition for any of us in the beginning of our move. We each went from no parent to two parents who are very involved in our lives. It became easier with each day, and now I can’t imagine not living with my aunt and uncle. They are honestly the reason I am a senior in high school with good grades and taking college classes. They push me to be better, and pay attention to me and my sister. You don’t realize what you were missing until you have it. Even though this was the most challenging night of my life, I am so glad it happened. I am so much stronger because of this and learned very valuable life lessons. I can finally say that I am proud of the person I have become and that is all thanks to my family, especially my aunt and uncle. They gave Kylie and me the world and treat us as their own. There won’t be a day that goes by that I won’t be thankful for them.