Blog Post #5: Grateful

I am grateful for many of my experiences this summer. Both the class and internship helped to make this summer an unforgettable one.

CLASS

I am grateful for this class because it introduced me to the career world. Before the class began, I never had a job nor did I know what cover letters and Linkedin were. But now, I have a better grasp on all of these things. When I need to apply to jobs in the future, I feel like I have an upper hand on my peers because this class has given the tools I need to succeed. It has taught me about resumes, cover letters, job applications, and Linkedin, but more importantly, it has taught me how to utilize these things and why they are important.

I am also grateful for this class because it taught me so much about myself. Using Waybook helped me understand my strengths, passion and personality. I now understand  It was a great tool for me to sort out my thoughts, and quite literally sort out my life. If you asked me 6 weeks ago, what I want to do 15 years from now, I would respond with, “I don’t even know what I want to do one year from now.” Therefore, the long-term goal planning exercises really forced me to think more in depth about my future. I am grateful for this because it really helped me to see the bigger picture. This big picture is a scary one at that, but I am glad that this class instructed us to make these goals because it was a great reality check that I truly needed.

INTERNSHIP

I am very grateful for having the opportunity to intern at Asher Clinic in conjunction with this class. Learning the work readiness skills in class then utilizing them at my internship was great practice for future employment. Also, discovering my strengths and assessing my weaknesses helped me learn so much about myself. For that, I am grateful.

More importantly, my internship helped me to assess what I want to do with my life. Coming into the internship, I had little knowledge of physical therapy, but I knew that it was an interest of mine. After 5 weeks of interning, I feel like I have such a good understanding of physical therapy, both the good and the bad. Seeing it in action each week, I fell in love with anatomy, physiology, and the modalities of physical therapy. It is all so extraordinary to me. However, I also saw the not so fun sides of physical therapy: the odd personalities, laborious documentation, and hassling with insurance companies. Nonetheless, everything I did and observed just gave me so much more respect for what physical therapists do. I now know what I want to do with my life -- I want to pursue the field of exercise science and one day become a physical therapist. I have the Career Pathway Academy and Asher Clinic to thank for that, so thank you!