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Careers
By Ruben, a high school senior
January 26, 2009
When considering a future career, especially when one is a high school student eager to take a bite out of life, there is careful consideration that needs to take place when deciding such a life-changing goal. With a specific career path chosen, it could very well determine other equally important life choices. Of course, a career path may change, but to a strong-minded young student this decision can influence the way they handle their entire high school career. Nevertheless, a choice such as this requires extensive thought into one's self because a decision of this proportion simply does not fall from the sky.
It just so happens that my own search for a future career path ended in just that fashion. Granted an informational pamphlet did not fall and hit the top of my head, but it may as well have because it came from out of nowhere. It was in my living room that I came to this sudden revelation innocently enough watching Scrubs, my all time favorite television show. Scrubs mixes a typically dramatic hospital setting with zany, screwball humor, which appealed to me significantly. That said I was watching a rerun episode from the show's second season in which the protagonist, Dr. John Dorian, must look after a social worker who slipped and convince her against suing the hospital. After watching that episode, I had social work on the brain so I decided to explore the field resulting in some serious consideration as a possible career path. However, I needed more than a hunch that social work would be a good fit; I needed to be sure of it.
The best way to discover if social work was a proper fit was to acquire experience and so began my relentless search for anything that would offer some insight. I realized that becoming a social worker might not be an easy job and the search for experience especially when one is only a teenager proved almost as difficult. This search carried on for quite a period of time that is until I discovered the National Runaway Switchboard. The National Runaway Switchboard provided me with the answers I was searching for and helped my decision to pursue social work. First, I started volunteering at NRS by answering the phone calls of runaway youth for two hours every week having recently celebrated my one-year anniversary as a ?Liner? at NRS. Volunteering at the National Runaway Switchboard was a major stepping-stone in my decision to pursue a career in social work.
It amazes me how by watching my favorite television show I came to the realization of what I may possibly pursue as a career. Once the idea of social work popped into my head, I had to explore that possibility by learning everything I could about it. The National Runaway Switchboard provided me with answers and guidance that allowed me to decide that I will further pursue a career in social work. I am finally convinced of the path I will take and the goals I will accomplish throughout the journey. With a clear vision ahead of me, I can now rest assured that everything else would fall into place if I just keep a watchful eye and continue to be open to answers in unlikely places.
January 26, 2009
When considering a future career, especially when one is a high school student eager to take a bite out of life, there is careful consideration that needs to take place when deciding such a life-changing goal. With a specific career path chosen, it could very well determine other equally important life choices. Of course, a career path may change, but to a strong-minded young student this decision can influence the way they handle their entire high school career. Nevertheless, a choice such as this requires extensive thought into one's self because a decision of this proportion simply does not fall from the sky.
It just so happens that my own search for a future career path ended in just that fashion. Granted an informational pamphlet did not fall and hit the top of my head, but it may as well have because it came from out of nowhere. It was in my living room that I came to this sudden revelation innocently enough watching Scrubs, my all time favorite television show. Scrubs mixes a typically dramatic hospital setting with zany, screwball humor, which appealed to me significantly. That said I was watching a rerun episode from the show's second season in which the protagonist, Dr. John Dorian, must look after a social worker who slipped and convince her against suing the hospital. After watching that episode, I had social work on the brain so I decided to explore the field resulting in some serious consideration as a possible career path. However, I needed more than a hunch that social work would be a good fit; I needed to be sure of it.
The best way to discover if social work was a proper fit was to acquire experience and so began my relentless search for anything that would offer some insight. I realized that becoming a social worker might not be an easy job and the search for experience especially when one is only a teenager proved almost as difficult. This search carried on for quite a period of time that is until I discovered the National Runaway Switchboard. The National Runaway Switchboard provided me with the answers I was searching for and helped my decision to pursue social work. First, I started volunteering at NRS by answering the phone calls of runaway youth for two hours every week having recently celebrated my one-year anniversary as a ?Liner? at NRS. Volunteering at the National Runaway Switchboard was a major stepping-stone in my decision to pursue a career in social work.
It amazes me how by watching my favorite television show I came to the realization of what I may possibly pursue as a career. Once the idea of social work popped into my head, I had to explore that possibility by learning everything I could about it. The National Runaway Switchboard provided me with answers and guidance that allowed me to decide that I will further pursue a career in social work. I am finally convinced of the path I will take and the goals I will accomplish throughout the journey. With a clear vision ahead of me, I can now rest assured that everything else would fall into place if I just keep a watchful eye and continue to be open to answers in unlikely places.
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