Changes

Hello everyone! So just wanted to give you all a little update on the things going on in our household. There have been some changes here in the last week and I am excited to finally write about it! (And before you ask, no I am not pregnant. I have been asked that by everyone when I told them I was making a life change so I figured I should preface this post with that!)

I have decided to change my major (or well my concentration) in school. It is so crazy because I am a junior and I should be graduating next May...okay that is not going to happen anymore.

When I first enrolled at Tech I had plans of going to nursing school. Before the first day of school ever even started I had already changed my major...to Housing and Design. What a switch! But I knew I had to do what I was going to love and housing seemed at the time to be just that. It was a huge jump, but for the first little while I LOVED it. My classes were fun and I was learning all these new things. I had dreams of owning my own business and decorating everyone's house. Now don't get me wrong, I think decorating houses would be a very fun job. But recently I have had to take a long hard look at my life and see what was going to make me happy.

Last year I started babysitting a girl named Lilyana. I would pick her up from school and keep her until her mom got off work around five. Naturally that meant I could not have any classes between 3 and 5. Unfortunately that eliminated my ability to take several of my classes that related to my major meaning I got stuck taking general curriculum classes (math, history, etc) to go ahead and get them out of the way. Let's just say this past year I have hated school. Dreaded it. Skipped way too many classes. I just didn't like being there...it was not interesting and I felt it had no benefit for me or my career path. But I knew that when I got back into my housing classes this semester I would love it again and things would look up. Well. I didn't love it. I still hated it.

I think part of the problem was the fact that the Housing and Design curriculum at Tennessee Tech is more architecture (housing) based and less interiors (design) based. That sound strange but I was much more interested in telling you what pillows to buy for your couch or what color to paint your walls than to be able to tell you how a house is built from the ground up or what period it was from.

It is now half way through the semester and I decided I needed to take a look at my happiness and the rest of my life. I had been thinking about careers from over a full semester now and the answer was clear. It was time for a change. I don't always like change haha but this one has me more excited, more motivated, and more interested in school than I have been in awhile. And I am so glad!

I have decided to change my concentration. I am still a Human Ecology major but my concentration is now Child Development and Family Relations with a focus is Child Life. What does that mean? Basically it is a very direct path to becoming a Child Life Specialist also called a Child Life Practitioner. I will have to do a 100 hour practicum, a 12 credit-hour internship under a certified Child Life Specialist, have a review of my coursework, then sit for an exam to get my certification. Sound intimidating right? No! Sounds amazing! Ok maybe a little intimidating haha. I have always loved children, and I am am so stoked about this. I will get to work in hospitals with children who have diseases or illnesses or have been in accidents/catastrophes and help them through all they have to go through. That could be preparing them and their families for a surgery or working with the child on his or her development so they won't regress. It is a liaison between the doctors and the families to make sure the child is getting everything he or she needs besides the medical care. It sounds so wonderful to me. Of course I will be in school for longer...how much I am not 100% positive but I really am okay with it. All the classes sound interesting and I am actually looking forward to it.

I really feel like God has blessed me by pushing me in the right direction. I know His hand is on this whole situation and I know I couldn't go through this without Him. And Wes has been awesome about this whole ordeal. He is supportive of me even though that means our plans will be changed. I am so blessed to have him.

I know this has been a super long post, but it feels good to write it all all out, and if you have made it this far with me I just want you to know that change is not always bad. Pray about it. Trust God that He will guide you to make the best decision. I know He has helped me. So whatever you are thinking about...my advice: go for it! Changes are sometimes the best thing in your life.