Free at Last...Well for about four months!!

Yesterday was the last day of classes for the summer in my masters program!!!  I cannot believe how fast the spring semester went....flew by in the blink of an eye.  It was a lot of work in the end, don't remind me of that 17 page paper but it was worth it.  When I graduated from UCONN from undergrad I did not go straight into grad school, I ventured to NC and worked for two years before venturing back into the classroom.  It was an adjustment to get back into classes and driving to campus but I am glad I did it!!  I love my cohort, we have such a tight bond and all come together, support each other and have fun while learning at the same time.  I cannot believe how much knowledge I have gained over this school year.  I mean I went in wanting to be a school counselor and today I know how to use various counseling strategies, how to run a group counseling session, how to run a classroom guidance lesson, how to advocate for students, how vital it is that the achievement gap is closed, etc etc.  I have even gone into a school and worked with an actual student (as opposed to just role playing together in class)  The completion of this year has strengthened my desire to become a counselor and I am so excited for my practicum in the fall when I will be going into a school 2 days a week working with students.  One of the reasons I went into school counseling is that I did not have a good experience with my own, I was told I would not get into some of the schools I was applying too (UCONN being one of them) and I should settle for more sure thing schools.  Fortunately I did not listen and I not only got into UCONN I received my bachelors degree from there and currently in a masters program!!!!  Where would I be if  I had listened to my school counselor.  My counselor was a person I only saw to sign up for classes and for the college process, she did not know me at all or have any idea what kind of student I was or what I was capable of.  That is not the kind of school counselor I want to be.  School counselors need to make their presence known and get people to understand that school counselors do not just sit behind a desk a day and can make such an impact in student's lives.  Enough ranting haha....So four months off from school!!!!  I will be working more and hopefully enjoying the summer weather as well!!!