After completing almost two years of graduate school (1 year to go), I thought I’d write a little letter to my past self. I’ve learned so much and still have a lot to learn.
1. When starting graduate school to become a counselor, you will have low confidence and a good dose of imposter syndrome. But don’t let that dictate your decisions. Wait things out. Endure. Your confidence will grow as you grow. You’ve worked for eight years and finished undergrad almost a decade ago. The transition back into school will be tough. But take heart, that feeling won’t last forever.
2. Try not to compare this second career with your first. Counseling will always lose to writing in a comparison battle. Counseling is still entirely new and unknown! It doesn’t hold much weight yet. It won’t provide the same comfort that writing did. It’ll be easier on your heart to treat the two careers as two entirely different entities.
3. You will learn the most from people and ideas that are different from yours. Be open. Don’t close yourself off to differing points of views. The more open you are, the more you’ll be able to soak in information. The more you learn, the more you’ll be able to think and reflect critically – rather than instinctually.
4. Being poor sucks but you sure do learn more when you’re in a season of lack. You will learn not to be greedy or materialistic. You’ll learn to value peace and contentment in all seasons like you never have before. You’ll learn that money is a thing that comes and goes. With each semester and loan, you’ll better understand how not to rely on money for happiness.
5. Age is just a number and school will keep your mind young. If you had stayed in your first career, the corporate burnout would’ve aged your thoughts and ideals non-stop. School is a chance to pause and age backwards. You’ll start to remember the idealistic dreamer you once were.
6. It is not selfish to work on yourself. In fact, you need to work on yourself in order to heal. The first step is to look. Your courses at school will often act as a mirror to areas you’ve forgotten or didn’t realize were lying within you. Don’t be scared. Don’t run away from your problems anymore. It’s time to heal now.
7. Change is incredibly hard. But the moment you start letting go of your dreams and the expectations you had of yourself and your future, things will get better and easier. You’ll start to taste the freedom of surrendering everything to God. You don’t need to plan tomorrow, just be obedient to the Lord today. He’s got a plan for you. He isn’t worried. He’s got you in the palm of his hand.
8. Counseling isn’t giving advice. It’s also not just listening either. You’ll realize that the essence of counseling is learning how to sit with someone in their pain. That in itself can be the best form of emotional medication.
9. You may feel experienced in life but you’re a newbie to counseling and the mental health world. Rather than letting inexperience make you feel less than, let it humble you. The best leaders are the humblest people. The best world changers are those who are willing to get their hands dirty, go unnoticed, and serve.
10. Yes, you’re going to become a counselor but you don’t need to let your new career define you like your last one did. You practice counseling but you are still just Sylvia at the end of the day. Learning how to balance it all will be a lifelong challenge. There will be days when the emotional drain of counseling will make you want to quit. And then there will be days when the joy of helping someone will gives you a great sense of purpose. No matter the day or the feeling, life is more than counseling. Just try your best. That’s all anyone expects of you. You are enough. You were always enough.
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