Title: Embracing change

Gender: Female

Location: Bedford, TX

I'm a high school guidance counselor in a school district between Dallas and Ft. Worth and love what I do.  Every day is an adventure…whether it's navigating the volatile emotional “waters” of my group of pregnant girls, talking with my favorite homeless student whose alcoholic father let the bank repossess their house or lamenting the fact that I actually DO have paperwork (schedules, balancing classes, etc.) that I'm going to have to break down and do, I never dread waking up and facing my job each day. 

Teenagers are at once magnificent and scary, sensitive and brutal, hilarious and heart breaking.  They give me hope when I see the proverbial “light bulb” click on and they make a better decision (using condoms is a favorite.)  They also shake me to my core when I realize they sometimes really do want to die and then do so at their own hand. 

I have learned to leave my job at school and draw definite boundaries so that they don't consume my every waking moment but it was difficult.  The early days of listening to them and hearing their pain is something I would never want to experience again.  Having a healthy distance so that I can actually  make good suggestions and not want to adopt dozens of them has taken years and I'm grateful for it!

Member Since: Saturday, October 13 2007

Last Visit: 440 days ago.

Profile Viewed: 589 times (last viewed less than a minute ago)