I have recently been inspired to start a blog. I have quite a bit going on post-graduation and this will be a good way to keep track of everything. Hopefully I can keep this updated!!
After months and months of searching I finally have a job where my degree means something. I am a RTL (Residential Treatment Counselor) at a facility we will call "W" for now. I work with teenage mothers and also teens that are pregnant. The girls are court mandated to be at this facility and will stay until they complete the program or leave the program early. I spend my time holding babies, interacting with the girls and teaching/demonstrating positive social and parenting skills. I have really enjoyed spending time with the girls and their babies and it really feels like I am in the right place.
During the Summer I counseled at Surfside which is a camp for high schoolers in Rockaway Beach, OR. I really had no idea why I signed up to be a counselor, but it felt like a "God thing." I had attended Surfside as a camper but I really had no idea what it would be like to be a counselor. I was really nervous, but I followed through with my plans. I had a really great group of girls, but it was an intense week. I heard lots of tough stories and exhausted myself with playing games and interacting with my campers. After the week was over, I knew I was supposed to work with teenage girls.
....this brings us to present day...so now, here I am at the "W." There is still so much I have to learn at my new job. There are lots of rules for the girls and I need to know all of them, but right now I have been super focused on making connections with the girls.
I should probably explain the title to my blog post. It is from a song by Chris Tomlin. The lyrics go something like this, "where you go, I'll go, who you serve, I'll serve." These lyrics are really powerful for me because God really does love the girls I'm working with, and they haven't been shown that love. We are called to serve people, and I am able to do that each time I work at the "W." It also seems like every time I am driving to work this song comes on, and really, I just use that as a sign that I am on the right track.
