2010 - II

Moving on with the flashbacks and reminiscences of this year that has been, I stumble upon more memories and events. Of course, a highlight of this year has been my initiation into the wedding scenario, as has already been blogged about. This year began with and will end with weddings, which is always a good thing. 


This year has also seen a lot more...some of which have been important, if not crucial facets of my life.


2010 saw me enter the field of counseling psychology from a practice point of view. Therefore, I began the year with practicing, keeping aside the fact that it was practical field work as part of my course's requirement. I counseled school students and spent ample time with them - helping them, teaching them life skills and generally being there. It was a different experience, and it definitely made me love my choice of academics and professional pursuit even more. It couldn't get any better than that.


This year also saw me test my fears and inhibitions for I consciously and actively sought to work at a de-addiction center as part of my internship. Working with drug addicts and alcoholics, all of whom were males was quite an intimidating and daunting experience. But then I got through the day by simply believing in my self and my capabilities. It wasn't as bad as people and my mind made it to be. Of course, being a female staffer at such a place isn't easy. But what's life without a challenge? The place seemed to grow on me and by the time I was comfortable enough, it was time to leave. It has been an interesting experience, and one that I won't forget. 


I realize that it is exactly a situation/choice like this that makes you question where you are at, and what you are doing with life. Of course, being around addicts makes it extremely difficult to exercise whatever one has learnt simply because of the kind of people you are around. This would make more sense to those in my field. With every passing day, the work that lies ahead of you needs quite a bit of unlearning and it makes you wonder if you have learned at all. With every passing day, a little hope gets lost and this experience helped me clarify this conflict. I realize now, that it is not because of who I am, but because of the addict themselves, that hope in general is lost - for most cases at least. And so whatever guilt/regret/remorse/loss of hope you feel for a client who leaves just to relapse the next day, isn't really anyone's fault. 


It's like they always say: Once an addict, always an addict. 


So yes, this field has shown me the ups and downs of dealing with issues and very serious issues at that. It isn't just about someone in a fight or a souring relationship anymore. It goes way beyond that and it's astounding to see how much shit people really are in. 


And I'm glad that we exist.


2010 and my experiences have made me believe that.