Really? A Year?

A year ago today I started my new job. More importantly, it is the date I started my current job, meaning I've been gainfully employed for a whole year. I sure wish my student loan debt (whom I've affectionately named Reginald. He's male... get it... the man always keeps you down)reflected that fact... but I'm sure many of you are feeling the same way.

What have I learned in a year?? It's hard to come up with cozy bullet points, since I haven't really reflected on it as much as any self-aware Youth Care Worker should... but there have been a few lessons along the way: Watch out, they spit, First impressions are misleading (things are not as easy as they first seem), Night shifts are not occasional: they are the norm.

I realize now, looking back on the things that I've written about, that I don't talk about things that I've learned at my job. I don't talk about my job for a variety of reasons, most revolving around the fact that the clientele I work with are protected by lots of heavy legislation and I don't want to be on the receiving end of the bad parts... but that doesn't mean I can't discuss the learning part.

I have learned a lot, I guess... a lot about patience, about what I care about, about the value of being of human, about respecting other people in more ways than just being polite. I've learned the satisfaction of little victories, and how gosh darn nice it is to actually enjoy what you do.

For a while I was really discouraged with work and I think some of it had to do with getting used to sleeplessness and working mainly back-shifts. But the last few weeks I've been able to see how relationship really affects the "influence" you can have with someone and I'm also just starting to see that I'm not half bad at what I do (and that's nice to know). I used to think confidence was a bad word, due to it's elusive nature. I still do, but at least we're getting a little better acquainted.