I recall posting in my last online journal entry that it was week #1 and that I had been stressed out at least five times at that point and that things were exactly how they should be. Well, here it is, week #2 and it feels like week #12 and all I have to say is…”Wait for me!!” It seems as though the semester took off at like, a mach 2 pace and left me back at the start. So, with that said, here comes the reflecting…

The content of the week was ample, as I went from class to class, from job to job (I have two—Autism Services Center and an aerobic instructor at the C-K Fitness Center), and from NSSLHA stuff to homework. This week, I have managed to already begin planning for my first student evaluation in my Diagnostics lab. I know who my client will be and who I will be working with (my partner is Rikki). We also have some ideas about what tests we are going to use. As far as other classes go, I have been observing taped therapy sessions in my Therapeutics Lab and we are planning to do some really neat projects in my Aural Rehab class. In Therapeutics Procedures, we are currently discussing report writing and it’s really interesting (and a bit overwhelming) to know how to write clinical reports. And finally, in the ever so awesome CD 315, Mrs. McComas has literally pushed us in the pool and in the deep end (No offense—I’m glad she has done this so we will have more time later to focus on our big projects and at that time, other classes will begin to pile on the work). We have tons of things to do and so many that I cannot bring myself to remember them all at this point. And with this said, I will share my plan of action or my processes that I will implement beginning this weekend.

After evaluating how I have reacted this past week to the many things that I had to do, I have come to the realization that I must plan thoroughly and become even more organized than what I have been (I didn’t think it was possible!). Beginning this weekend, I am going to start planning for the week ahead. This means that on Sunday evening, I will sit down with my planner and write down all that I need to do from day to day (I have always done this, but this time I’m going to do it a little differently). Thanks to Kelly (and if you read this, I love you for your ideas!), I am now going to write down things that I need to do on Tuesday that are actually due on Friday. I think this will be a tremendous help. Also, I’m going to do a little attitude changing. I am aggressive, competitive, driven, a workaholic, a perfectionist, and ambitious to a fault. Whatever I do is done well and I never do things half-heartedly. I am also a complainer (a.k.a.—a WHINER!!) and often times I have no one to blame but myself for feeling pressured and overwhelmed. This is who I am and I must accept this; however, I must accept the fact that this semester is only going to get worse and therefore, I must deal immediately. Mrs. McComas gave me a great piece of advice and I believe it went something like this: Don’t think about all that you have to do in the big picture. Just ask yourself, “What comes next?” This is what I will begin to do along with this list of things that will contribute to my little attitude makeover. Here goes:
1. I must stop whining.
2. I must be accepting at all times.
3. I must be a thorough planner.
4. I must do something I enjoy everyday.
5. I must do all things to the best of my ability.
6. I must keep my head above the water.

Overall, I feel that this week was incredibly busy and quite overwhelming; however, I will not let that discourage me or bog me down. I have been through worse times and I have been a big girl and dealt with the stress of life. My grandmother always use to say (she was such a blunt lady—God rest her soul): “When crap happens(she didn't exactly say 'crap'), you had better clean it up right then and there. Otherwise, the smell is going to get worse with each passing minute.” Well, I think that it’s time that I clean mine up and plan for the next cleanup as well. Until next time…

As a senior in the CD program, I have found myself asking why exactly I was drawn to this field and what exactly do I see myself doing. In fact, these thoughts have crossed my mind many times. When it comes down to it, I would have to say that I love children, especially those with special needs. Many of you may ask, "Well, why not be a Special Education Teacher?" My response to that would be this: I chose to do speech-language pathology because this field is so wide open. If I choose to work with children ages birth to 3 years, I may do so. If I choose to work with school-aged children, I may do so. Also, I may work with adults or I could specialize within a certain area (e.g. Voice and Fluency).

A friend of mine was enrolled in the program when I first came to Marshall. At the time, I was a Political Science major planning to become a lawyer in the future. When I would talk to her about the CD program, she seemed very enthusiastic and would talk about the various approaches one could take in the field. The more I heard, the more I thought that this was exactly what I was meant to do. After talking with Mrs. McComas about switching my major, I had made the decision to join the CD program. Now, I am ever so glad that I did.

I was actually talking to another friend of mine just recently about what exactly I could do with my degree. I told him that I was fairly interested in working in an Early Intervention program (Birth to 3). I explained to him that I feel as though I can make such a difference in a child's life. I would get to see children learn and grow, and they would be so unaware that they are learning and growing, but that would be the beauty of it, because I could see this with my very own eyes. I think that's beautiful. So, why you may ask? I think the more appropriate question is why not.