So there have been some exciting developments as of late! Firstly, I was offered a different research assistantship that was actually for the psychology department (as opposed to the sociology department) and it involves children! The project was too great an opportunity to turn down, so I dropped the sociology position that I had already accepted and switched to this psych. one. I am still volunteering to help with the editing of the manuscript on the sociology project-- so this will give me even more to put on my resume for PhD programs (working on two different research projects in grad school). What is neat is that my professor is going to help me get together a presentation for the New England Psychological Association's conference that is here in MA. I am going to analyze some of the qualitative data that I never got to use for my initial senior thesis presentations and then submit that one to the conference (the deadline is sept. 23rd). Then we (the prof. I am the RA for) are going to get something together to present at the Eastern Psychological Association's conference in NYC. The deadline for submission for that is in November.

I was also called (the next day after I found out I was offered the psych. research assistantship) by a practicum placement! They want to meet this saturday! So I will hopefully have a practicum site all set up. I know someone from the same program did their practicum there last year. It is called the Pyramid Builders Association and they work with kids, adolescents, and adults (I specified that I wanted to work with kids/adolescents).

As for PhD programs, the deadlines are approaching for application submission (most by December). My offical list of schools is now:
University of Maine,
University of Denver,
University of Northern Illinois,
Temple University (in Phillidelphia, and fun story? The prof I am working for graduated from Temple!), University of Rochester,

A couple of PsyD programs (doctorate of psychology) have been added to my list as backup because they are easier to get into... the main difference between a PhD and a PsyD is that PhD is more research focused while PsyD focuses on practice. The PsyD programs that I am thinking I will apply to are: Rutgers University (New Jersey),
and University of Hartford  (Connecticut).

I was toying with the idea of applying to Baylor's PsyD program, but I really don't want to live in Texas and the school isnt THAT much easier to get into than PhD programs anyway. I'm definitely going to start saving up money to be able to apply to all of these places! Plus I need to save money to present at the conference in MA (because it is my senior thesis from undergrad and has nothing to do with my research assistantship, it won't be funded by the school-- so I have to pay for my own poster which can get up to $100 to print!). If only money seriously grew on trees! Speaking of which, my friends and I arre planning to go apple picking this fall! And pumpkin picking too!

In other news, after I met with the psych. professor, I discovered a psych. book give-away table (awesome!) and am now the owner of three new psych. textbooks: "case studies in abnormal behaviors", "human sexuality", and "abnormal psychology". These are in REALLY good shape! And they are the instructor's review copies! The "case studies.." book has a 2013 copyright, and the other two are 2008 and 2013 respectively! I wonder why they were given away??

Hello, Blog world!

I think it is time for an update! I am finishing up my last weeks at work. All of the youth that I was a job coach for have graduated (save one who left the program). The graduation went really well! I helped make a video with pictures of the youth and quotes from their supervisors (from their job sites)-- two co-workers and I stayed in the office until 9:30pm working on it!

 I am glad work has slowed down a bit. I also finished my second summer class. I got an A! In my last paper I wrote how the government should sterilize single women after their 4th child they have if they are not in any committed relationships (think 4 children but 3 or 4 dads) or after their 3rd child if their children have already been taken away from them. I was half in jest, of course... as I do not think the government should be in charge of sterilizing people (again), but I agree with the sentiment that these women should voluntarily get their tubes tied...I mean, if you don't use birth control and continue to sleep around with every man you meet, then you seriously need to make sure you don't bring children into that mess!

Last night I went out to the river and climbed trees and wrote in a journal. It was so lovely! Then the sun began to set and HOLY MOLY!!! IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GORGEOUS!!! Check out the links to my pics (on the side bar) to see what I mean. It just kept getting even more breathtaking. I was sitting under a large willow tree that was next to two other willow trees, creating a perfect fort. The tree was right on the edge of the water. Another fun part of this experience? There was a lady that had brought her cat out on a leash! I was literally thinking of bringing Chai, but I didn't want to carry him screaming bloody murder all the way there. This lady's cat was certainly enjoying herself, she was exploring and didn't hide at all when strangers came up to pet her!

In other news, my grad school list has narrowed even more: University of Rochester, University of Denver, University of Northern Illinois, and Temple University. University of Kansas is a maybe-- I haven't been able to get ahold of the mentor I'd like to work with. 

Speaking of professors, I also got hired as a Research Assistant for a Sociology prof. at Suffolk who is working on a project with previously incarcerated women. It is a longitudinal study they have been doing for 5 years now with about 50 women. The prof. I'll be working for is currently writing a book. My job is to give her feedback, edit her manuscript, pick out themes within the qualitative data, play with the data, basically be her soundboard and let her know what I think is most interesting or worthy of her attention and what is not. I already gave her some feedback on the introduction of her book and she replied "This is extremely helpful feedback. Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!!!" :-) It was fun because I was honest about where I disagreed. You see, she is a strict sociologist...i.e. she is against many psych. theories-- which is completely my opposite! I think it will be a really fun job, plus it looks AMAZING on my resume for PhD programs... a lot of the programs look for research experience, not even clinical experience.

As for my clinical experience, I am STILL looking for a practicum site. The one I was going to have (through my summer job) fell through because it was more of a social work position, not mental health. I have contacted a bunch of other places and am waiting to hear back. My prof. also said I can just come to practicum class and there is usually someone who knows of opening spots that I could look into. 

Fall classes start on September 4th. I am taking Domestic Violence, Abuse, and Neglect (a counseling course!), Quantitative Analysis (a CJ class), Practicum, and Childhood and Adolescent Development. 

That is all for now!

Grad School list

** EDIT: University of Vermont has been taken off my list, as the professor just got back to me and said she will not be accepting students in the fall of 2013, so there is no longer anyone in the program I particularly care to work with**
Edit #2: UCONN has also been taken off of list, as the mentor I wanted to work with will no longer be there.

Hello everyone!


I am on my lunch break, so I decided to update my blog :-)


So far work has been really great! I have done several mock interviews (to prepare the youth for their real interviews tomorrow) and some intake interviews as well. Some of the youth are going to be really fun to work with! Others may be a challenge...hehe. My co-workers and supervisors are all really awesome! We became fast friends (practically the first day I worked). We all went out to a local restaurant and we tease each other and have fun. One running joke is that my supervisor's name is Latisha, pronounced exactly like my name but with an 'L' in front so several of the people that have called the office have gotten us confused, thinking that I am the head of the program or asking for "Latisha Brooks"! We tease each other that we are sisters.


I actually find out which kids I will work with throughout the summer tomorrow (when they get their jobs). I start visiting them and meeting with them and their employers starting July 9th. It should be an interesting experience!


I have officially gotten a placement for practicum, as the head of the program (above my supervisor) is good friends with the head of a community organization that has counseling. All I know is that I have a placement working with children/adolescents and there is a supervisor lined up for me. I have also been officially asked to work here during the school year (and they will be flexible with my practicum hours and class). This means that I will get full tuition remission!


Speaking of school, I have 9 different PhD programs that I am planning on applying to (by the end of November this year). I have emailed most of the mentors at these programs that I will specify I want to work with. Some have said my research interests are in line with what they do and that they are accepting students! The programs are as follows (in order of preference):


1) The University of Denver, Colorado. UD has a really amazing child clinical psych. program and in addition, the mentor I want to work with has her own traumatic stress studies lab. Even more awesome? The people that work in this lab bring their pets to work! I saw pics online of their cats laying on their desks and some of their dogs cuddling with various staff :-). DU has two mentors I wouldn't mind working with and they accept transfer credit.


2) Kansas University, Kansas. Though I don't really want to live in Kansas, this program is the absolute top program in child clinial psych. The program is HUGE and it was one of the very first schools to have a child specialization within clinical psych. I have not heard back from the mentor I would like to work with yet, so if she is not accepting students, then I will not apply to KU.


3) University of Rochester, NY. Rochester, NY has been ranked as one of the top most "livable" cities. It appears to be relatively inexpensive. The program accepts transfer credits (and allows for the transfer of practicum).


4) Northern Illinois University. This seems like the school that is easiest to get into (the acceptance rate is 6% whereas all the other ones are around 2-3%). There are 2 mentors that have already gotten back to me that my research interest somewhat aligns with theirs (one mentor doesn't work specifically with children, however)


5)Temple University, Phillidelphia. This is only # 7 because schools 3-7 are pretty interchangable as far as my preference goes. The menotor I'd like to work with here has gotten back to me and his research aligns with my research interests.


6) Loyola University, Chicago. This prgoram looks really fulfliling and the course work looks really in depth and awesome. There are two mentors I would like to work with, but I haven't gotten in touch with them yet.


7)Suffolk University, Boston. I would LOVE to stay in Boston. I tried to look at other Boston schools but unbelievably, NONE of them fit my criteria (accept transfer credit, have a child clinical psych. program, and has a mentor whose research I am interested in). Suffolk has one mentor I wouldn't mind working with. If I stay at Suffolk, then I get full tuition remission plus salary because of the job I have (and would continue to have). The downside to Suffolk is that the mentor's research I am not particularly excited about to the degree I am about the others. Also, they do not accept much transfer credit (hardly any), and most dissapointingly, they do not accept practicum transfer-- even though I will have my practicum through Suffolk (but through the mental health program instead of the clinical psych.. Apparently the clinical psych. students get to have practicum at places the program has already contracted with, whereas the mental health counseling students have to go out and find their own places).


As far as what I want to research, I have a couple of different things:


-How developing new attachment styles with peers and trusted adults can help children/adolescents cope with and heal from trauma


-How trauma effects children's existential conceptualization such as the meaning of life, God, heaven, etc.


- The role of imagination in coping with childhood trauma


-How forgiveness of sexual abuse offenders aids in the healing of trauma (how and why does it happen) and why some people choose to forgive while others do not.


-Theatre and fiction as narrative therapy- how it helps define the self and helps abuse survivors tell their stories.


A lot of these interests intersect with eachother and the two that I will be able to focus on (because there are mentors that will be working on similar topics) are the first two. There is one mentor (Northern Illinois University) who is working on forgiveness topics, so that one will be a focus if I get in to NIU.


And now it is time to get back to work!

Poems

First, some poems I have composed as of late :

I Scream For Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

For the day is long and the nights are hard

And nothing soothes the soul like frozen lard

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

For the heat is stifling and the throat is dry

And the weather is tempered by a sugar high

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

For the tummy grumbles and the spirit yearns

And all that will satisfy is when the ice cream churns

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

For the shop is close and the money is there

And nothing is divine like the topping- gummy bear

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

For hallucinations of sundaes plague the mind

And the cure is something of the frozen kind

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

For pictures of flavors flood the eyes

And that’s brilliant marketing, I surmise

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

For nothing says “home” like a cup or a cone

And cravings are strong, like a dog for a bone

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

For class is really slow and boring

And dreaming of ice cream keeps me from snoring

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

For it’s been a long while before dessert has been had

And without frozen cream, I’m afraid I’ll go mad

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

For drinking milk will only work to an extent

And on melting candy-coated goods I’m hell bent!

I scream, you scream, but mostly I scream for ice cream

For I won’t stop screaming until I get what I need

And Ok, not need, but want by-golly, indeed!

From a Knight to His Lady

If I were the night,

Thou wouldst be my star, my light

Wilst thou guide me with thine hand,

Through the darkest of storms

And brightest of days

For all of eternity, in a thousand ways

My star, my love, my life, my all

Thou dost consume my mind

And ignite passions deep within 

Ah, wouldst I die time and again

If only to hear thy voice do sweet

For death is no longer a ponderance worthy of fear

With thy promise to guide me ne'er disappear

Closer than mine soul to mine body 

Thy spirit and mine are but one combined

For every heart beat that quickens in thy chest

Mine own flutters just the same

If thou shouldn't bleed by sorrows blade

Mine own flesh wouldst bear the scars

For every tear of joy that flowery from thine eyes

Tis my face the psyche's brine shall stain

If I couldst sing of my love for thee

Twouldst be a song worthy of only the gods

Notes so sweet and pure no mortal could hear

Without cringing at the sight of their own hands of dirt

This love, this hand, shall last forever

For it was cast from diamonds no steel could sever

Prithee, take mine hand in yours

And promise thy heart to mine

That I may always wish upon thee, my star

And thou couldst not shine as bright

Without my love, mine self, your (k)night!

Once Upon a Time There Was a Time That Once Was

Once upon a time there was a time that once was

A time of princes and kings,

Princesses and queens

A time when chivalry was granted

And gowns were flowing

A time when magic was real

And one could be anything;

A peasant, a royal, a horse with wings

Or a submarine captain on a sinking ship

Once upon a time there was a time that once was

A time of tea parties and make-believe

Stuffed animals and dreams

A time when adventures were daily

And friendships never ended

A time when stories were crafted

And the world was not so threatening

Wishing upon stars really worked

And children ruled the world

Once upon a time there was a time that once was

A time when I was a famous cook

A child actress on Broadway,

A time when I was a model,

A beauty queen adored by millions

A time when I looked out my window

And I saw oceans in drought

And clumps of mud

were the most elegant pieces of pie

Once upon a time there was a time that once was

A time when stray kittens were always brought home

And a band aid fixed all wounds

A time when I was a dog whisperer

And I would be famous once the world knew

A time when being alone wasn’t lonely

Because pretend play lasted for hours

Chores were performed by Cinderella

Given by her evil step-mother

Once upon a time there was a time that once was

That is not what now is

But in the mind that is now reflecting on what was

Cats and Coffee

Curled up with curvy kittens

Craving cups of cold cafe lattes

A clear cut cure for calculated contentment

Cuddled up with calicoes capturing cat naps

Cautiously consuming cream coconut cappuccinos 

Coddling cuties camped in cupboards of cotton cloth

Constantly comforted by carribean cacao kissed java 

Captivating Caramel cream coffee encased in carry out cups

Cathartic chayenne colored feline churlishness 

Clearly complimentary cohesion compatibly coinciding together

Completely coalescing in cosmic utopia, 

Courtesy of cream colored comic cats 

And carefully concocted creations of creme kona cuppa

------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, to discuss work. I really love work so far! My direct supervisors are really nice and I have already gotten to know them as friends! I am working 20 hours a week. So far, I have been making a ton of reference checks by calling people the youth have chosen as their references (mostly social workers and therapists). Tomorrow, I interview a couple of youth myself for the summer program! On Friday I have been invited to go to a breakfast seminar of sorts at the law school, it will consist of famous guest speakers on education. 

The head of the department that this program is a part of is really awesome! She is gung ho about me working there during the school year (I have already been told what I will be doing and am pretty much assured a position!) The greatest part of that is that the job comes with full tuition remission and a salary! This would even include the PhD program, which means that the Suffolk PhD program is now back on my list of options! Also, my boss is very close with (they have a long history of working together, even)the head of the clinical psych. department who is also the person whose research interests are similar to mine and thusly will be the mentor I will pick! So guess who I will be askibg for a reference from when the time comes?? Lol Not only have I been assured of a job, but a practicum position as well! My boss has connections with TONS of agencies and is hooking me up with one particular agency to find me a placement for next year, I will be handing in my resume/CV/cover letter tomorrow! 

In other news, it has been ridiculously rainy (as in rain 6 days a week) and slightly cold! It was a high of 54 yesterday! It got up to about 57 today! I am currently wearing a sweatshirt, and I had to wear one to bed last night! How wild!

RSS Feed

What are those random links at the top of the blog? Well, those are recent pictures I have edited with Instagram (an application on my iPhone). All my pictures are taken with the iPhone. Simply click on a link (those are the titles/tags of the pictures), and you will open up my Instagram photo page! I have also created a Facebook page for my photos if you would like to "like" that page and follow along, simply search for "littlechaibaby" (it will be a "page", like a fan page for a music group, not a person like Joe Smith). As you may see, I have really become addicted to taking pictures! Everything is just so beautiful here in Boston! I am so in love with Boston and am convinced that it is one of the best cities in the world that I am considering getting a tattoo of her name! Yes, my friends, my thoughts are cherishing the many ways to inscribe "Boston" onto my hip! My current favorite idea is a lamp post with "Boston" read forwards and "Beacon" read upside down (beacon hill is my neighborhood, the most gorgeous neighborhood in Boston! And the lamp posts are lit all around historical neighborhoods (to designate them as historical- beacon hill being one of them. How do I manage Boston forward and Beacon upside down? Well, tht is called an ambigram! I used an ambigram generator to see what it would look like. Check out this site to play around and see various ambigrams : https://www.wowtattoos.com/wow/generator.php . The awesome part about this Boston/beacon idea: when you look at my tattoo, you would see Boston, but when I will look down at the tattoo myself, I'll see Beacon! Plus beacon reminds me of lighthouses and Bostonis famous for lighthouses as well! Plus it's the first city I've ever lived in on my own, had my own apartment, far away from any known territory.... A monument of bravery, stalwarthiness, and personal growth-- a turning point of life worthy of commemoration! Anyway, I'm just toying with the idea :). I'd want a henna or temporary tattoo first to see if it really is something I'd like to pursue! I start work on Monday! It will be a training workshop (thank goodness they train us!). I have a midterm for my summer class on Thursday (already!!), so I should probably read a bit of the get book. Although, I got a 96.67% on my reading quiz without reading (only scanning the notes from class, as she said she will not quiz on things we haven't discussed....so really, why did I buy this freaking expensive text book??) In other news, I have gotten to cook a bit this week! I made melon pan (Wikipedia has a good run down of what that is, for those of you who do not know) and I filled some with chocolate custard, and others with strawberry custard! Then yesterday's made curry rice! With chicken and potatoes and carrots- the whole deal (well, with onion powder added, instead of real onions)! 'twas delicious and I will be having the rest of that for lunch today (yes, my body clock is remarkably screwy and lunch will be around 3 :) )

First year over!

I am officially done with my first year of graduate school! Yay! I was so ready for finals to be over! The bummer is that I only get a week off before summer classes start :-(. Oh! And I did get the job I wrote about in the last post. I will be going in next week to discuss hours and sign paperwork and such! It should be quite an interesting summer! I am taking research methods in criminal justice (only because its a requirement, unfortunately) and crime and communities (also a requirement). The job is 20 + hours a week (I will be on call).

I discovered an AMAZING bakery in town! It's called Crumbs. Check out their website and make sure to click on the various cupcake descriptions! http://www.crumbs.com/  . I celebrated the ending of finals by getting a key lime cupcake and a coffee toffee cupcake. Both were divine! (I substituted one cupcake for breakfast and another cupcake for lunch, is that bad? The next day I only ate veggies (in the form of broccoli, potato, and cauliflower and cheese soup! lol) ) You can check out the pictures of said cupcakes here: http://instagrid.me/littlechaibaby/ --- along with all my other instagram photos (I am proud of several of my Boston Spring photos in the album, so seriously check them out! :-) )

My agenda for this free week? Perhaps do some pilgrimage to places I have yet to see, visiting an awesome used bookstore that has a cat walking around in it, clean my apartment, sleep as long as I want whenever I want, watch movies, and read some for-fun books! So far I have accomplished the sleeping and the watching movies, with a tad bit of cleaning thrown in! Tomorrow I think I'll try exploring :-)

I have been sick this past week :( . I initially thought it was either spinal fluid pressure or the mess I was on to deal with said pressure because I was SO exhausted 24/7 no matter how much sleep I got (I was only awake for 6 hours last Saturday!) but today I have started hacking up a lung which tells me I caug something from all those theatr kids that were passing around sicknesses (walking pneumonia, bronchitis,and I think mono were the ones I was aware of). Anyway, I'm relieved it isn't spinal fluid...I was just waiting on having to go get a lumbar puncture! I. Other nes, I had a job interview for a position as Job Coach as a part of the iWorks program that helps youth from DCF (department of children and families, I.e. foster care, etc.) learn how to write resumes, dress for job interviews, and actually work at a job. My job would be to meet with the youth to help them with those things, to evaluate their progress, to meet with their managers, to visit them on site at their work, and to be on call for them in order to help with various situations that may arise. My interview went really well, I think! The supervisors/directors were really. Ice and seemed impressed with my qualifications. They even gave me a couple of scenarios to solve and when I told them what I would do in those situations, they said "wow! That's exactly right! Good answer!" they even started talking about a placement for an all-year job next semester at the JOBS program (same deal, working with DCF youth) which offers full tuition remission! On too of that, the director said she was going to look around and see if she can get me a Practicum placement for my mental health counseling because she had 30 years of experience working in DCF and she knows the head of the Suffolk Psych. department who also worked in child welfare! They said I should hear back about the job in a few days! It's my last week of classes, so I have several papers to write and presentations to make this weekend. Then next week are my finals-- I only really have 2 tests and 1 presentation, so it shouldn't be too difficult. I'm hoping my summer will at least be semi relaxing, with taking two classes (consecutively, not concurrently) plus a job (hopefully this iWorks thing!)