My Hopes for 2018

Over Christmas Break, it was great to take a moment and appreciate all of the accomplishments that 2017 has given me. I am looking forward to what 2018 has to offer especially with soccer, college, my career, and with Simply Emily Elizabeth.  

Soccer: 
In 2018, it will be my final year at Aquinas to play soccer. As crazy as that sounds, my senior year came way to quick. I felt like I was just a freshman coming into preseason, these years have gone by so fast. Being apart of an amazing team which is full of friendships that will be treasured forever. In being off season (spring semester), I am hoping to continue in working hard leading into preseason with constantly working out besides having soccer practices. With a busy schedule, actually making time in the morning to go workout, drink a lot of water and make healthy decisions when it comes to food.

Career/Internship: 

I can't wait to share my experiences within my career field of Child Life Specialist. I have finished with volunteering at a local hospital in the Grand Rapids area, now I will be working on applying for my practicum in the spring of 2018. Then I will be applying for internships after my practicum in a different hospital around the Grand Rapids area or even in Michigan. Then after the internship, I will take a certification test to qualify within the field. I am continuing to collect children's books, small activities and toys for having my own collection for working in the field of child life. 

College: 
With my chaotic life as a student athlete, my years at Aquinas are coming to an end especially with school. I look forward to this spring semester and staying on top of my education. The end of my undergraduate career is quickly ending with only a few classes in my Child Life department. Into the next semester, I will be taking 14 credits (which is easy to manage). Then I will be doing summer classes at a local community college with three of my classes that is not offered in the summer semester at AQ, plus it is cheaper to take these classes there. I am hoping to graduate in December of 2018, with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology with a Child Life concentration. 

Blog: 

With coming into the new year, I am excited for more photo shoots around different towns and coffee shops. I'm excited to broaden my fashion sense within the newest trends of 2018. I have heard through common demand for more lifestyle blog posts which will be happening in 2018. I would love to collaborate with more bloggers in the world of blogging and also do fun activities with my social media accounts. I am hoping to join other social media sites soon. 

I can't wait to expand my knowledge in college, career, blog and soccer. I want to thank my readers for constantly encouraging me to do what I do. Thank you for being you. This year will bring tears, hope, the positive and negative aspects of life but I'm ready to take 2018 on! 

What is A Child Life Specialist?

With a lot of people has questioned on what my major is as I tell them "My major is Child Life concentration of a Psychology major". I thought I would spend this blog post to describe what exactly a Child Life Specialist career does, how I found out about this career and what my future plans within this career would be. My hope is to educate more people about this wonderful career path.

Well I found out about this career during the spring semester of my freshman year. I was at a crossroads between majors of being undecided and staying with Education. I was introduced to this wonderful major without a lick of knowledge that it even existed. I always knew that I wanted to work with children since I was younger since I was a nanny for years and helped around my mom's classroom. I did a ton of research of this career within a hospital setting and I fell in love. I thought "Where has this been all my life?" Aquinas did not have the specific major of Child Life as many colleges around the Grand Rapids area did not have the major either. I met with a career counselor at Aquinas to understand more about other options to pursue this career. She told me that she has heard rumors of the major of Child Life will come to Aquinas during the school year of 2018-2019 which would be my senior year. For the end of my sophomore year, I was a Psychology major and finishing the requirements for the major and moving quickly to core classes to take for the fall semester. Then the word got out that Child Life was coming to the fall semester at Aquinas, where I was super excited as the major came early than expected.

The profession of child life will continue to meet the needs of infants, children, youth, and families as they cope with the stress and uncertainty of illness, injury and treatment. The philosophy and practice of child life will be applicable to any healthcare setting and transferable to other community settings or situations in which the potential for infants, children and youth to cope, learn, and master is placed at risk. The services provided by child life professionals will be evidence-based, developmentally-appropriate interventions that include therapeutic play, preparation and education to  reduce fear, anxiety and pain. 

Now in my junior year, I am taking my Intro to Child Life class and every time I learn more ideas and concepts to becoming a better Child Life Specialist. I enjoy learning about how to handle certain situations around the hospital, working with a medical play dolls and the different concepts of theories. I have completed the necessary hours for volunteering in a hospital setting and now I am working on my application for practicums. My goal is to hopefully be accepted in a practicum by the spring semester of my senior year which will lead into my internship.