By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger
As humans, we tend to get so caught up in moments and the current chapter of our lives that we are in that we do not often think about what the next chapter has in store. We get comfortable in our routines and physical places that were a part of the current chapter and when that chapter comes to a close, it can be scary to think about leaving all those familiar things, places, and routines behind. It is always a little scary to close a chapter and start a new one, but change is good and necessary.
When I was starting my last semester of undergrad of college this past fall, I quickly came the realization that I would be leaving all of the things, people, places, and routines that I had spent four and a half years building connections with and forced to step into the unknown. At this time, I had not found out if I got accepted to the grad program that I wanted to attend, I did not know if I would really like the field that I was going into even though I had already spent four years working in it. What if I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life, but then I found out that I didn’t like it when I started to study the material that I thought I wanted to do as a career? What if the program didn’t even accept me? All of these thoughts were running through my head on a daily basis over the summer and fall, which was quite anxiety-provoking, to say the least.
But then, one day this fall, I knew that admission decisions for the AT certification program that I wanted to attend and had applied to were going to be released soon, so on to my application portal I went. When I logged on, it said that my application status had been updated. My hands were sweating at this point and I thought to myself, “There’s no way I got in”, but I somehow did. My undergrad degree had nothing to do with AAC nor AT, which was the program I was trying to get into, so I didn’t think that they would want me, the person who has relatively minimal professional experience in AAC and an undergrad degree in a completely unrelated field. At this point, there was still a very tiny part of me that was doubting if I would even really like it and if this profession was really for me, or if I just thought that it was.
Well, I have been in classes for about two months and I can say for certain that this is the field and profession that I am meant to be in. While it is still school and homework (who enjoys either one of those?), my classes have reassured me that AAC is the field I want to spend my professional career in. Unlike undergrad, I find myself engaging with my peers and engaging and connecting with the content on a high level. I find myself being enthusiastic about the content. While in class, I can see how I am going to apply what I am learning to my future career. None of these things were present in my undergrad career. My undergrad major was interesting and useful in life in some ways, but it certainly did not speak to what I wanted to do as a professional in any way or another. It certainly did not have me anywhere near to as excited to start working and starting my career as I am today.
Leaving the last chapter of my life was not easy, but it was worth the challenges that it brought me. The transition was necessary for me to proceed with my life, education, and professional career. I am so grateful to have met incredible people and made amazing friends during my undergrad years and that they continue to be by my side as I continue this journey of life. This chapter of my life is certainly different than the last in many ways, but it needed to be this way. I am incredibly happy and grateful to be where I am today. I cannot wait to see what is next!
Communicators In Action - college, aac, assistive technology, university, goals