Birdy's Autobiography - Very Long
02:21 May 22 2013
Times Read: 472
49 years is a lot to get into three to five pages, especially if trying to give a rich, full picture of a person’s life, but broad strokes should certainly be manageable. I intend to give it my best shot anyway. So, come on, join me through a review of my life.
I was born during a flood to parents from large families. My Mom has five sisters; my Dad has four living siblings and four deceased siblings. I am an only child who used to want lots of siblings but got numerous cousins instead.
I grew up in ___ County, Kentucky and went to elementary school at B____ S_____, where my Mom taught third grade. She wound up teaching for thirty three years before retiring. Anyway, while at BS, I was a straight A student and because I was a teacher’s kid, I often got to do extra things at school to help teachers and other students. I think this was my first taste of “helping others to do better” which eventually formed what I did as a career.
While in grade school I played basketball and softball. I continued to play softball in county leagues with my Aunt M (who also retired from teaching eighth grade) up until I went to college. The high school did not have a team back then.
During the summers I was fortunate enough to have grandparents who kept myself and my cousins and taught us how to work in a garden, mow yards and cemeteries, fishing, playing dominos and horseshoe, quilting, and preserving food including hog killing and souse making. They taught us about working hard, having fun when you can, treating neighbors like family, and treating family as friends.
High school brought more good grades and the harder classes in preparation for college. It also brought BETA Club, 4H presentations, drama class, being editor of the newspaper and co-editor of the annual. I learned how to type; process negatives to print pictures, work in the library and use the Dewey Decimal System, and be a general “nerd”.
It was during my sophomore year that my world turned upside down for a while. My Granny with whom I had spent so much time, developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in November and was dead by March. Within that same year, four more family members would pass away. It was the first time I lost someone and it was a very difficult year.
I began high school in 1978 in a class of 500. I graduated number 23 out of a class of 232 in 1982. The students in the top 25 have become engineers, nurses, educators, principals, social workers and even one psychiatrist.
College life began with a two year commute to Sue B. Jr. College in L____, KY. It is also were I managed to get my first D ever – in history. I will never forget Ms. Patton who, on test days, met us at the door rubbing her hands together, dressed in her pressed khaki skirt and blouse which reminded me of a military uniform. Her tests were awful in that not only did you have to distinguish the true from false questions, you had to correct the false ones and make them true. Of course, skipping class to play spades, ping pong, or generally shoot the breeze in the student building did not help my grade any.
Two years later in the aftermath of a tornado, to the sounds of a buzz saw outside the window and by candlelight as there was no electricity, I graduated with an Associate of Arts degree. Next were C__________ College and my leaving home for college experience.
I met and roomed with two of my dearest friends that first week at C______. We became the Nikki J girls as we lived in the Nicholson Jones Dorm. We were the only dorm on the classroom side of campus, which made for some quiet nights and long walks from the cafeteria.
During my time at C___________, I decided to major in journalism as I enjoyed writing and reading lots of things only to find out they did not have that major. What they did have was English as a major and I decided teaching would be a good back up, not to mention that I had so many teachers in my family that I knew something of what they did during the school year and best of all, summers off.
Then I took a social work class. I loved it. I was good at it without much effort. I kept taking the social work classes, added some psychology classes but also finished my English major for education. Then I did my student teaching and hated it. I stayed to finish the social work placement and loved it. My career focus changed and solidified finally.
Three years later in May, 1987, I graduated from C______ College with Bachelors in Science-Education. My major was English with minors in psychology and sociology with a specialization in social work. During that time I was admitted to the English honor society Sigma Tau Delta and helped start the campus newspaper as the Editor. I was included in Who’s Who Among Colleges and Universities and graduated with honors.
Graduate school is next on the journey through time. I decided to follow a boy to Ohio and really get away from home. I had overly protective parents who were known by everyone or knew everyone around. I was always H. and Y.’s girl, never just J. I wanted to be J before I became someone’s wife. So, I applied to O. S. University, C____, Ohio. I even decided to do the dual degree program. I thought I might as well get two for the price of one since I had to be there anyway and it was not that many more classes.
C________, Ohio was like moving to a foreign country for me. I had visited Washington, D.C., New Orleans, and Miami Beach in high school but had other adults to do the planning and so forth. In C__________, I was the adult who had to navigate the city, learn to drive on 6 lanes of traffic, learn about transit bus lines, bars, alternative lifestyles, managing money in a city of shops, and slum apartment living. I think I was in shock for most of the first year.
Shortly before graduation in 1989, my Papaw who taught me how to fish passed away. Grief had come to visit again. Several more passed away that year with the final one being on New Year’s Eve with my other grandfather. Adding to the toughness of the year, the boy I followed to Ohio got engaged to someone he had dated back at C__________. We still had all the same classes together as we were doing the same degrees. But I still managed to graduate with honors and be inducted into the Social Work honor society, Alpha Delta Mu.
With my brand new Master’s in Social Work and Master of Art in Public Administration, I went back to C County, my parent’s home, and took the summer off. But it wasn’t long before the itch to get to work took hold.
At the end of summer I was hired by C R Comprehensive Care Center, M____ office. So, I again moved out – this time for good. I moved to M______ and was the greenest MSW ever. They hired me to do part time outpatient, part time therapeutic rehabilitation counselor and added rape crisis counselor. There I discovered that what we covered in class looked very different when in reality. The book knowledge, although necessary and helpful, was not the whole picture. It makes a huge difference to have the person in front of you and expecting you to know what to do, how to help, and where to send them if needed, all while being genuine, warm, compassionate and professional. With my inner self in shock, my cheeks pink outwardly, I tackled all kinds of things and melded the textbook with the application.
Ten months later, I changed jobs to be closer home and for more money. I began my 21 year journey at B R Medical Center – T Center, C_____.
For the next ten years, I was a full time inpatient therapist working with adults and adolescents with addiction, behavioral and psychiatric disorders. I learned an incredible amount about the various things people can become addicted to and how it affects everyone around them. I saw how psychiatric disorders interrupted lives and almost stole them, from the actual patient and the family who cared for them. I also learned a lot about myself during this time.
I think it was important for me to look at my own life and lead by example. I still think this is true. I gave encouragement, advice, and admonishment, confronted, and empathized with others and somewhere along the way, realized I needed it for myself as well. It made me a better social worker and therapist. I also realized I wanted to take things to the next step in my career.
In 2000 I obtained my Licensed Clinical Social Work (LCSW) from the Kentucky Board of Social Work. I was now able to open my own agency if I desired. But I was not quite ready for that yet. What I did do was change my direction.
In the same year, I accepted a teaching position at my alma mater, C College and dropped from full time to part time at the hospital. I went from doing social work to teaching social work and was lost most of the year. I look back and think – those students got more counseling than teaching. But, they managed to survive and become good social workers as well.
During the four years I was at C, I had three department chairs and lots of upheaval. My last year, I was the only one offered a contract for the next term. But, I had already seen the writing on the wall, so to speak, and had looked elsewhere. C was not Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited and has since changed to a human service degree instead of social work.
Luckily for me, there was a visiting position for E K University open and I was hired. I spent the first three years between the C and H campuses. It was eventually decided to close down the H campus, so then it became C with M if necessary, but so far social work is maintaining classes at C only.
After three years, a position was created for me in order to be full time and remain at E K University. I am currently the Extended Campus Field Coordinator and full time faculty person at C. Others in the program commute to C in a rotation from the R campus.
I have now been at the C campus from 2004 until now, for a total of nine years. It has been an interesting and eventful nine years. Why? Well, not only was all this going on in my career, but I also decided that if I was ever to marry, I needed to meet some eligible single men. I placed an ad in an online dating site. I met some “toads” as well as my “prince”. He just happened to live in Chattanooga, TN – a bit over three hours away. It was difficult dating and matching schedules but we did it for several years. Finally, we sort of decided the distance was too great and both of us were stubborn about moving. I waited for a while, and then decided to move on but telling him I was going to date again. Grinning here as I remember, within a month he called to tell me he was ready to move to Kentucky. He moved in August of 2010 and we were married in March, 2011.
We had a Civil War wedding and were married by President Abraham Lincoln. I have been reenacting for about 16 years now and am in charge of the Battle of C W reenactment held every October in L, KY. Luckily, he enjoys reenacting as much as I do.
The same year we were married, we bought a house and moved in November. AND, he decided to return to school and finish his college education. So he worked and took a several classes, while I taught classes and did my consulting business on the side. It was one whirlwind year. I had to take the next summer off to recover.
Consulting business, I forgot to mention that I briefly had my own private practice. I decided I did not like being responsible for insurance and all the red tape that goes with private practice. I have not ruled it out in the future and will eventually do it again I am sure, but for now, doing other LCSW supervision will keep my hand in practice and give justification for maintaining my Professional Limited Liability Corporation (PLLC) status.
This brings me to the present and the application to the Ed. program. I have been watching my husband with other classes and sometimes taking a look at how others do things makes you reevaluate your own approach. I decided that there are some people who may know their degree, but they do not always know how to teach what they know.
I was fortunate in that I had a Bachelor’s in Education so that I knew about class plans and preparing activities to enhance learning and so forth. Not everyone has that. But even with that background, I realized there is so much more to learn. I have mostly good reviews from students, but as with anything, there is always room for improvement and new ways of looking at things and challenging oneself and the students.
I am an excellent social worker, a good therapist, but I think I am a just slightly above ok teacher. I can do better and I intend to do so. I think the EdD will aid in that achievement.
I like learning and having a new challenge. Currently my personal life is on tract and going well. My husband is finishing up his Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice this summer and has initiated an application to grad school for the fall. We are working on the house and yard to make it our own. I had gastric sleeve surgery in December, 2013 and have currently lost 70 pounds and feeling so much better. I should have done it years ago. But my head had to be in the right space.
People have told me for years that I should get my doctorate. But my head had to be in the right space, I think it is finally there. I am ready for the next challenge. As the phrase goes, “Bring it on!”
I hope you have enjoyed the trip down memory lane with me. I left out so much about activities and people that influenced me over the years but I think you have the general idea.
I was an intelligent person who focused on education and career for a long time before focusing on the personal. Now the personal is in order, time to have a new focus. The big question is, will the EdD program decide to aid in my new challenge? I certainly hope so; it could be quite the adventure!
COMMENTS
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RedQueen
01:58 May 30 2013
*crossing fingers*
I'm sure you got this in the bag, sugar...lol