What will the future bring me?

All throughout my life, I have been bombarded with the question: "what do you want to be when you grow up?".  When I was little, the relatives and authoritative figures in my life were content when I said the president, Superman, and a Jedi Knight.  They reveled at my adolescent mind and told me that I could be whatever I want,  and that "the sky's the limit!".  Still, to this day, I am heckled by my relatives, and am frequently asked this question today; only now, the people who ask me this want a serious answer.  As I think to myself, I can't help but come up with one simple answer; Who knows? I certainly don't anymore.  

This junior year has been quite a long road; with many twists, turns, bumps, and forks throughout.  I've experienced many "rhetorical shifts" this year such as going from being part of the "in" group to being rather socially outcasted.  This caused me to fall into a rather introverted state for quite while.  I couldn't understand why I was so alone, and was rather distraught by it.  I always thought to myself that having time to yourself, and being by yourself in such a big world full of other people was a bad thing.  I might have even cried about it once or twice; but in the end, I had some very epiphanic moments, and I "saw the light" so to speak.

With my moments of realization, I came to realize that nothing in this world will ever be perfect; nothing in this world will go perfectly your way.  Things happen for a reason, and instead of moping and wasting your time complaining about things that don't go your way, go out and make something happen.  Life doesn't just happen, you've gotta be the one to make it happen.  As far as knowing what i want to be when i grow up, the truth is, i don't know.  I don't have a clue; but, that shouldn't be a problem.  This time, the time we have left before we enter the real world, this it the time for us make mistakes; to make the wrong decisions, to make mistakes, because, when it's all over, we won't have to question what we desire, we'll know what we want.

Sorry if this makes absolutely no sense Mr. P

Possible career in Guidance Counselor

Hello!

So, for the most part, my previous career blogs have dealt with something in the medical field, but i want to change the direction in this blog cycle.

I find a certain interest in becoming a guidance counselor, specifically for high school students.  I was inspired by the counselors of our school (Mr. Duran is my counselor). I find this career to be rather appealing because, as a high school guidance counselor, I would be able to help students find the right path and make something of themselves once they leave high school.  The impact that a guidance counselor has on a student's potential is huge.  I could help students with setting up their schedules, and be there every step of the way as they find the career path they want to pursue.  And, not only would i be able to help them with their schedule, i would also wish to be able to help students out with their issues, either pertaining to their education or any other aspect in their lives.

As seen from my other career choices, i find true joy in giving to others and aiding in the happiness and success in others, which is why becoming a high school guidance counselor is definitely in the cards for me. And i know that i've made a blog about being a teen guidance counselor before, but this time, i want to help with their educational lives rather than just simply their social issues.

Sports Trainer

So, from my previous blogs, it should be apparent that i have quite an interest in careers in medicine and health care.  However, this is not my only interest.  Ever since i was a little kid, i've always been really into sports.  I played basketball, baseball, football, soccer, track, tennis, and was on a swim team.  Sports have a very prominent part of my life, however, after high school i most likely won't play these sports anymore at an organized level.  The solution to this could be to become a sports trainer.  I could be involved with an organized team and could help take care of the injured as well.  It would satisfy both of my interests.

Career in Teen Guidance Counselor?

So, i'll have to do a lot more research on the specifics of this exact career.  I'm not quite sure if it is actually a "guidance counselor" or if it's like a psychiatrist or something else..  but i'll give the best description of the job that i possibly can.
So I got the idea after watching a movie called "To save a Life".  It's about a lonely kid who has no friends, no one in his life who cares about him, so he ends up taking his life.  After this incident, the former best friend of this guy who commits suicide begins to ask the questions of what he did wrong and if there was any way of preventing this? So, he begins to go to church, where he comes across a youth group full of teens that are either emotionally or physically damaged and or teens who are just out of place who come to this youth group to "fit in".  This "leader" or "guidance counselor" helped the teens who were going through rough times; in fact, he saved many of them from living a life full of drugs and saved them from resorting from suicide.  Seeing this character made me want to have that kind of job.  Not exactly work at a church and preach the word of God, but to help out children and teens who are or have experienced rough times.  To help guide them away from the damaging experiences they go through and to help "loners" fit in and have a place to go and people to talk to when they are feeling down and lonely.  It most likely wouldn't pay much, but the feeling of fulfillment from helping kids out with their problems, saving their lives even, is a priceless reward you wouldn't be able to get from any other job.

Defense Attorney

I've been inspired by my stepdad, who is a public defender of santa clara, to consider the path of becoming an attorney.  My stepdad is an attorney who takes homicide cases, and although it is a rather cruel and gruesome field, it is definitely an interest of mine.  I am a strong believer in the statement "innocent until proven guilty",  and I would love to defend someone who is accused of committing a heinous crime.  The first step to becoming a lawyer is to obtain a bachelor's degree from a college or university.  There is no required major to get into law school.  The next step is to Law School Admissions Test, which is like the SAT, only for law school rather than undergraduate school.  The next step is to attend and graduate from law school, which takes 3-4 years (depending on whether or not you take part in a part-time program).  After that, you will take a test known as The Bar, which, if passed, enables you to practice law as your profession.  This test not only includes a written portion of the test, but you will also be put through a background examination in which the Bar examiner will look into your background information such as: traffic tickets, credit reports, substance abuse issues, and medical records.  After all of these steps are completed, you are officially certified to practice law as your profession.  

Family Therapist

Unless you are a close friend of mine that I've shared this information with, you wouldn't have known  that I lived through a rather rough past.  Now, it is not usually in my nature to share such personal information with just anyone, but for the sake of this blog I am willing to overlook it.  I was an abused child; physically, mentally, and emotionally abused by my father; by my own flesh and blood; by the man who took part in bringing me into this world.  Because of how heinous and graphic his actions were, I will spare you of the details, however, I can tell you these events occurred from the ages 5-7.  When these events finally came to a stop, and both my mother and I finally escaped from his malevolent clutches, he left not only me, but also my mom beaten, scarred, and broken.  For a long time, years after this occurred, I was still left broken and damaged.  I felt as if I had no self worth, was left questioning the meaning of my existence, and wondering what I had done to deserve such mistreatment.  It had left me in a state of recurring depression; no matter where I went, everything was dark, bleak, and empty,  and I couldn't help but feel worthless and pathetic.  As much as I tried to let go of the past, it was merely impossible.  The mental image of getting beaten countlessly was implanted in a prominent part of my mind.  Life was rough, but it was because I forced myself to never speak of the what happened; refrained from releasing my emotions.
 After about three years, I found hope in the world in the form of therapy.  When people think of therapy, they usually think of completely psychotic and mentally ill patients, however for my case, it was a very calm and relaxed environment.  I went to a family therapist, where she helped me work through my feelings and emotions.  It was there that I had first fully released my feelings, pouring out my deepest darkest thoughts, my feelings of depression.  The crushing weight that I had been lugging around was finally released.  But it wasn't just me letting out my feelings that helped my wounds heal.  My therapist was the one who counseled me and helped me take the small steps to letting go of the past, and seeing the good in the world.  She talked me through my feelings and took me through mental exercises and gave me advice.  Therapy really helped me change my life around for the better.  It had a very strong affect on the path I took in growing up.  That's why I'm interested in the career of Family Therapy, because it helped me a lot through my hardships, and I would definitely want to be able to help other families through theirs.

Career blog #2

Before, when I was younger, I didn't really take my future seriously.  I always said "i want to be a doctor.  Being a doctor would be really cool!", but never really knew the procedures taken to become a doctor.  Now that i've grown and am now a junior in high school, I have reached the epiphanic stage of actually caring about taking my future seriously.  I came to the realization that what I do now and how I prepare myself now will pave the way for my future.  So, I have done a lot more research on not just physicians or pediatric physicians but of the medical field as a whole.  Because of my ignorance, I never knew that the medical field presented so many more opportunities than just becoming a physician.  In the middle of my research, I came across the different type of nurses,  and was absolutely blown away by the nursing profession.  Now, I am very interested in the nursing aspect of the medical field.  I've looked up many nursing programs, and found that I am very interested in the nursing programs offered to undergraduates at San Diego State University, Long Beach State University, and UC Irvine.  To show these colleges that I am dedicated and interested in becoming a part of the medical field and strive to become a successful nurse, I am going to dedicate my weekends to volunteering at the El Camino Hospital in Mountain View.  It's going to be a long and hard journey, but I know I can complete this trek with hard work and dedication.

SDSU
http://nursing.sdsu.edu/

CSULB
http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/chhs/departments/nursing/programs/NursingBachelorProgram.htm

UCI
http://www.nursing.uci.edu/undergraduate_programs.shtml

El Camino Hospital
http://www.elcaminohospital.org/