In high school, I wanted to be a writer. I toured Columbia University's School of Journalism, looked at New York University's creative writing programs, and worked in the school newspaper for two years. I always loved writing and I seemed to have some talent so I finally applied as an English major at a local college (because New York was financially out of reach).
I loved the English classes that I took. My intro was a bit boring, but I quickly learned how to tailor papers to my interests and really push myself. One of my first college papers was on feminism. It's one I remember most. I took the usual British literature classes and loved them. Although we didn't do a lot of writing in them, it was fun to learn new perspectives on the classics. My favorite class was Creative Writing. I pushed myself, created an amazing portfolio of fiction papers, and met some other amazing authors.
In the midst of that, I ended up changing majors to Sociology. It was never that I didn't want to write anymore. I always want to write. But I wanted a more tangible major that might get me a little further in the job market. Plus I absolutely loved the classes. From intro to theory to contemporary families. They amazed me.
That's kind of how I got into social work for graduate school. It was a tangible degree that would open doors for my career. Dozens of open job positions needed that master's in social work. So I applied and started that portion of my education.
Only now that I'm in it and I'm also working, I'm really learning more of what I want as far as a career. No solutions have come to me yet, but I'm beginning to open my mind to other ideas than a social work degree and career.
I've always known that working in the diabetes field suited me. I get it on so many levels that I can bring an extra aspect to any position. From the daily living to the physical differences of type 1 and type 2 to being a part of the community, I know diabetes. And it makes sense to work in some form of diabetes organization. It excites me.
The ideas going through my head have been tailored to diabetes specific careers lately. I'm actually meeting with a professor in a couple of weeks who does a lot of research in the chronic illness area, hoping she may give me insight why I should finish graduate school. I'd love to work for JDRF or the ADA or any of the up and coming diabetes organizations. That's my dream starting point.
But another part of me knows that I want to own my own business especially in the non-profit field. I've got some ideas floating through my head on how diabetes could play into that. Maybe it'll be through kid's camps or some organization that reaches the families of diabetics.
Maybe I'll focus on the emotional aspect of diabetes with some sort of resource for young adults and older. I've found a great need for support in my age group as we transition into adulthood and continuing support as we enter new stages of our life and face new challenges with this disease.
There's also a part of me that would love to create an international diabetes organization that utilizes volunteers and brings resources and supplies to other countries. Other organizations do part of that, but I don't feel that they are accessible for many of us. They feel too corporate.
One diabetes career goal of mine is to be published in book form. There are some other bloggers and authors that I'd like to team up with and create a group authored book. And there's also a big piece of me that thinks I can contribute something unique on my own. Mainly living this disease as a young woman and the physical and emotional challenges that it's been.
I'm not sure what my future looks like with all these ideas, but I do know that I want to focus on this. I keep coming back to it and I think it'd make living with this disease for 80% of my life much easier. More purpose.
I just need to figure out how to get things going. I also need to figure out if a graduate degree is important. And if so, is it the one I'm in or another program?
