I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve posted here. Well, actually I can, because I’m not exactly the world’s most dedicated blogger… but still. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be posting this summer because of how busy I was, and that turned out to be correct.
One of the issues I’ve developed since getting sick is that I often don’t tell people what I’m up to. I’ve suffered numerous setbacks (career, relationships, etc.) due to my health and other factors, and it’s gotten to the point where it feels safer not to tell anyone what I’m doing just in case it doesn’t work out. I know that probably isn’t the best way to deal with things, and I want to stop doing it. I honestly feel anxious even mentioning what I’ve been up to on here, but hopefully taking little steps like this will help me start being more open with people.
I spent the summer in Buffalo, New York, which is about four and a half hours away from where I live. I mentioned having an internship in some of my earlier posts, and the reason I was there was to complete a Child Life internship. (If you don’t know what that is, more information about Child Life is here: http://www.childlife.org/the-child-life-profession) I was there for over three months, and had a great time. Buffalo is a great place to live (at least in the summer… not sure I would want to be there in the winter!) and I learned a ton during my internship.
As soon as my internship was over, I had to start studying for the Child Life certification exam, which was at the end of August. The exam is only offered three times a year, and if I didn’t take it now, I would have had to wait until November. I’ve taken career-related tests before, but this one was really tough. Unlike the teacher certification tests I took, this was one exam that covered everything, not multiple tests broken down into sections or subjects. There were a ton of recommended books to study, and I only had a couple of weeks to study after my internship ended. Needless to say, I had a lot of work to do.
I took the exam a week ago. Unfortunately, there aren’t any test locations near where I live, so I went to the nearest center about an hour and a half away. It’s a pretty long test, 150 questions, and they give you 4 hours to take it. I’m a pretty fast reader, which normally helps, but these were not questions you could skim through to get the right answer. It was definitely the hardest test I’ve ever taken. I finished in about two and a half hours, and once I submitted it (it was a computerized test), I had to go to the proctor and have her print a sheet that told me whether or not I had passed. I was so scared that I actually left the test center without looking at it and didn’t check it until I was out in the parking lot. Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about, because… I passed! I can officially use the title CCLS after my name. 🙂
So now I’m busy searching and applying for jobs. I also turned 30 a few days ago. My birthday was great, and I barely thought about my birthday diagnosis at all. Maybe I’m finally getting past that memory. There’s a lot of things I’m trying to get past, and hopefully being more open about who I am and what I’ve been through will help with that. Hopefully I can also keep up more with this blog, especially as I move forward and start my career in this field that I love.