Hello, fall.

Okay, so it doesn't feel at all like fall here in the Southwest. The temperatures are still in the 90s (although low 90s!) and most days are pretty sunny, with the exception of the last two. Since moving here I have definitely learned that there is such a thing as too much sun. 

Last week I started my second (and Lord willing second to last!) semester of grad school. On Monday I just had one class about advanced practice with individuals. We'll be doing a lot with the DSM-5 (diagnosing related to mental health) and using clinical theories to do therapy with clients. 

Wednesdays are by far the worst day of the week. I have to leave at 7:20am to get to my first class at 8:30. That class is about family therapy, and I can tell I'm going to enjoy it. This professor is teaching for the first time and is pretty realistic about what our lives are like as grad students. She's also an Army wife--who knew?

I have a break for about two hours, during which I grab lunch (and coffee), do homework, and hang out with the other advanced standing students. In the afternoon I have an advanced policy class, which is all about politics and policy as they relate to the interests of social work. I'm going to have to write a letter to the editor of a New Mexico newspaper, research policy, and participate in a mock debate with my classmates. Again, good professor, although not my favorite subject.

I get another two hours of down time before I go to my last class, which is mental health treatment of adolescents. I'm really interested in the topic, but not so much in the style of the course. Due to the fabulous technological innovations of my generation, we can be in a class taught by a professor in Albuquerque. It's basically like a Skype session, with us main campus people together on one end and the professor with the Albuquerque students on the other end. The only trouble is we can't see the professor's powerpoints and class participation is tough for us since the professor is on the other end with another class. It got so tough, and we were so exhausted that sometimes we just muted our end of the session and talked amongst ourselves. Oops. Anyway, I'm finally free at 8:30pm and am almost too tired to drive back to the other side of the mountains. But I do.

This week the real fun begins, since tomorrow is my first day of field! I have my hospital badge and parking permit and am all ready to go. The days are sure to be long and busy, but I'm excited to jump in and start doing social work again. And Lord willing, I will survive grad school to tell you all about it. :)