No one tells you becoming a social worker is the fight of
your life. You feel the weight of societies weakest individuals on your
shoulders, and you watch as the systems placed to help them fail. You fight for
the rights of the weakest. You holistically see people in their individual
environments, declaring people are more than their illnesses, their more than
their disabilities, their more than their problems. Social work is the declaration that every
person counts, and part of that job is making sure everyone is accounted for.
Two weeks into my new job and I feel this weight, I feel the burden of society
weighing, and this is just my beginning. Two short weeks has brought me face to
face with the mercilessness of mental illness, extreme poverty, failing medical
systems, and strained families. I wouldn’t be in my right mind if I said that I
haven’t had moments of wondering what the hell I’m doing.
As my patient walked toward me this afternoon, as I readied my questions and preparations, it struck me: no one has the opportunity to change this persons life as much as I do, no one has the opportunity to give this person voice, fight for them, declare that they are loved and part of our society, as much as I do.
It’s incredible how the little victories of my patients push me to keep going. Today a simple smile, from someone who hasn’t smiled in years, propelled me with enough energy to go for months. The unwavering support and creative teaching methods of my supervisors, allowing me to see the world through a different perspective. The study of how policy is effecting individuals, and being part of the process that makes change. Understanding the leaps that we’ve made in mental care, and how it can be improved. Learning how social environment structures health, stability, and overall wellness.
I sat at my desk late tonight, as everyone left for home. Clarity of the world and its problems rushing into my mind, I saw the world through clear eyes. I have found my Calcutta; I have found my Popeye moment. I have had all that I can take and I won’t take it anymore.
And in that moment I knew, I was born for this.
As my patient walked toward me this afternoon, as I readied my questions and preparations, it struck me: no one has the opportunity to change this persons life as much as I do, no one has the opportunity to give this person voice, fight for them, declare that they are loved and part of our society, as much as I do.
It’s incredible how the little victories of my patients push me to keep going. Today a simple smile, from someone who hasn’t smiled in years, propelled me with enough energy to go for months. The unwavering support and creative teaching methods of my supervisors, allowing me to see the world through a different perspective. The study of how policy is effecting individuals, and being part of the process that makes change. Understanding the leaps that we’ve made in mental care, and how it can be improved. Learning how social environment structures health, stability, and overall wellness.
I sat at my desk late tonight, as everyone left for home. Clarity of the world and its problems rushing into my mind, I saw the world through clear eyes. I have found my Calcutta; I have found my Popeye moment. I have had all that I can take and I won’t take it anymore.
And in that moment I knew, I was born for this.
