As of December 22nd, I will have 43 credits. 7-8 classes later I will be ready to directly transfer into the University of Illinois college of business. I'll be finished up with those after the Fall '08 semester, and then I will have an extra semester to play with. I think what I'd like to do most in that semester is travel, but not aimlessly, something like Habitat For Humanity, or the Peace Corps, or a mission trip, or something. I think it would be cool to go somewhere that speaks Spanish, because I want to minor in that, along with a double major in business administration and psychology. I'll explain my reasoning for that in a sec. After that, I want to go to Northwestern... or some other school in the city and get my Masters' in child psychology. I think right now I want to be a school psychologist. Working with kids is my favorite, I think. I was reading about the job description of one of these and it sounds ideal to me:
These psychologists work to maximize students’ education and minimize behavioral problems at elementary or secondary schools or at the district level. They work with educators, administrators, and parents to deal with problems such as drug abuse or violence; improve learning through classroom techniques; help improve parenting; and find the best programs for disabled or gifted students. They may also work in assessing school programs, guidelines for dealing with behavioral problems, parent involvement, or other school programs.
The Spanish minor is nice then, too, because I want to be able to be a bilingual school psychologist.
Okay, so now I am going to be starting my career, while simultaneously working towards my PhD in counseling. That is a really long processs. But I can multitask. I have summers off if I work at a school. Oh, and at this point I think I still want to live in the Chicago area. I love Wisconsin, and Michigan. But those would be nice places for a cottage or something. There is too much opportunity in Chicago.
What about the business major, you say? It is still my dream to open up a mental wellness facility. . . and if that doesn't work, some sort of side business like selling jack-in-the-boxes. Okay, maybe I'll stick to the first plan. But ever since I was little I was planning on owning something myself. And, having a mental health corporation with lots of psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, counselors, etc. specializing in all sorts of things would be awesome - drug counseling, addictions, depression, eating disorders, self-injury. The whole shebang.
Finally, I want to write a book. I understand that will take a long time probably too. It will probably happen later in my life. Like, after I am done with the rest of my education. We'll see what it's about. It won't be fiction though.
At some point I still want horses, but we'll figure that out later. I have a really unrealistic fantasy of how my personal life is going to turn out, so that will be another blog for another time.
