Epiphany

[elmo]

Hey guys, I just had an Epiphany and I feel really good so I've gotta tell someone before I burst! I've actually made a decision! 🙂

I'm almost at the end of my second year at Uni studying Music. I did want to be a music teacher but I'm really not enjoying the course and figured, if I don't like it now, I'm not gonna spend most of my life as a bad teacher who hates her job! 🙁

So I got to thinking... what if I don't become a teacher? What then? And I've been at a loss for the past 6 or 7 months. But then it dawned on me...

As some of you know, I've had a lot of issues in the past that have cropped up everywhere I go and don't seem to want to leave me alone. Memories from my truly cr@ppy childhood. And I've spent a good few years trying to face these issues and bury them. Well, I've had a thought (doesn't happen too often), what if i was to use these experiences to help other people? What if burying them isn't the key? Maybe that's why I haven't been able to do it. So I've decided that the only way to make my mark in the world is to listen to other peoples' problems and help them... thus helping myself. I want to be a counsellor!!! 😀

Anyway, now that I've finally reached the point... (bet you were wondering when that would happen! 😀 )... I'd like your 2 cents on this. You guys are always good at these things. Have i just created some false hope for myself?

Lets open this thread up to anyone who needs my services too. I could do with the experience. 🙂

Thanks for reading...

*hugs*

 

[mire]

well, i don't really know you, but you seemed cool, so my only advice is, to do what you love, and if you discovered you don't like music so mutch, try to think about alternatives...i know that one of the thing i really hate is bad teachers who don't give a f*ck about us, just because they arent't living the life they wanted to, or doing what they like...so don't spent your hole life unhappy..
hope i've helped somehow...

 

[elmo]

Yeah, I hate bad teachers too. There's nothing worse. They don't care and you end up suffering because of it. I don't wanna be one of them. I've thought long and hard about the options and I really don't think there's anything else for me but counselling. 🙂

Thanks for your opinion it really helps to make things clearer.

*Hugs*

 

[ana8]

I'm sure you made a good choice..Helping others is the best thing you can do and from your posts I'm sure you'll do it right.And it's great you made the decision now and not after whole 5 years, so good luck🙂

 

[Xander]

They have music councellors as well, who get their patients to play music or something, i dunno, but they exist. But yeah apathetic teachers are the worse, go with what you.

 

[elmo]

Yeah these people you speak of are called music therapists. I thought about that but they work with autistic children and I don't think I could do that.

😀

 

[faiths5x5]

if it makes you happy go for it, don't spend your life doing something you don't really want to be doing,
it might be the thing for you, it might not but you won't know unless you try. i do think that you would do well at this, but, it is more important that you're happy in your job. that bit of info has been pounded into me by every adult outside of high school that i know. go for what makes you happy.
maybe it won't pay as well, but you will manage. its better to be happy, and not rich, than to be miserable and rich.
helping people is usually always good, and if it helps you...go for it, especially if it makes you happy.
it can be hell, but the rewards can be So worth it. i've only taken pysch classes, and i was thinking about it, but i wouldn't be able to do that. more power to those who can, and care.
having a back up plan can't hurt, so i would try for that, but if you think or know its what you want to do, and its what will give you satisfaction and some happiness and its what you want to do, go for it and worry about the rest later.
what type of groups would you go for? kids, teens, adults, college, elderly...etc...or other type thing or just a counselor ?

i wouldn't classify this as a false hope, if you had a crush on somebody, and they were taken or something, or if you wanted this top notch high level job and never worked in the field before, they would be false hopes to me, but...
going for something you want, to try and help people? nah. you might not always succeed and help everyone, but you will help someone, and it could make all the difference. you will never know unless you try.
lol if ya really want, im sure i could help ya gain some experience, but i might just over think things myself. maybe if i just let it go itd be nothing but...eh...

i dunno if i was any help or anything but...

 

[xtrustno1x]

I think you've made a good decision. It's best to go with something you love than something you don't. I've been bouncing around for a couple of years about what I want to do in life. Originally, I was going for vetrinarian. I soon realized that I can't handle the death of animals. My psychology teacher put me on the path to majoring in that (once I got to college, that is). I thought that I was really certain about that profession, until I realized that it might not be a good profession when I'm not really a people-person. It wasn't until the beginning of this year, when I had that same teacher as my English teacher, that I figured out that writing was my true calling. I love to write, and although I have a lot of doubts, my now-English teacher has pushed me to believe in myself. Here's to hoping both of our choices work out well for us!!

 

[elmo]

Thanks guys!

You're right Faiths5x5... I need to be happy. And I don't want to be doing a job that makes me sad or angry. I get mad at myself when I can't play something... there's so much competition that you have to push yourself to be better than others. I don't like that. I'm not that type of person. I believe that you can only be good at something if you enjoy it.

what type of groups would you go for? kids, teens, adults, college, elderly...etc...or other type thing or just a counselor ?

I think i'd like to work with kids and teens. But I'm not fussy. I just want to help people with their problems. I think I'll probably end up being a counsellor and opening my services out to everyone that needs them.


xtrustno1x: I hope everything works out for you. I truly believe that if you're passionate enough about something you make it work. I wish i had the talent to be a writer, but I haven't got the imagination for it. I'm sure you have though and I wish you the best of luck. 😀

*Hugs*

 

[killerdwarf]

elmo:

I just came from another thread, and I got some of your backstory. I wanted to think a bit about how to chip in on this thread, so here goes...

Life rarely throws you a fastball (are baseball metaphors ok? I know you're in Bonnie Scotland...). All the best laid plans can go awry instantly, or so it seems! For example, I attended University and got a degree in Biology, even though I loved English (and shoulda done it instead, and become a teacher). I was hired by my local car manufacturing plant and worked on the line for many years. I wrote a qualification test and got an apprenticeship (at a very advanced age) and now I'm an electrician! On the way, I tried becoming a computer programmer (I made more on the line), firefighter (uhh, passed the physical, but too short...) and a small business guy (bankrupt!). It's a winding road, for sure! My point is this: no matter what you do, you can always be a counsellor! Even if you do something completely different, you can volunteer to help folks! I coach hockey and teach first aid...to satisfy my "inner teacher". I don't make money at it, but maybe that's why it is important to me...I choose to do it, it's not my job! You will see that you don't really need to choose one thing over another. You must choose, at some point, but that doesn't mean you can never do what you have a passion for...you will find a way!

ok, big ramble is over...I hope I made some sense...

 

[elmo]

I'm always in awe when you give your 2 cents on a thread. You're really wise (didn't say old) 😀 . I have tonnes of respect for you. (right, praising over now) I'm really glad you decided to answer this one. Although I don't get baseball, I get what you're saying, and you're right (as usual) I don't have to make the choice now. I get that. I've decided that the choice (for now) will be to see if i can get on this counselling course and then make my choice from there. I figured that, if I start doing that, there are so many jobs I can work my way through. And I'll be happy too. 😀

Thanks KillerD.


*hugs*

 

[killerdwarf]

I figured that, if I start doing that, there are so many jobs I can work my way through. And I'll be happy too. 😀

You just hit the nail on the head, elmo! Start somewhere, and see where it goes. Pick something that interests you, and if it isn't exactly what you want, volunteer, coach, tutor or something to keep your hand in to what you love! My best bud, "evil clown", says people make their own breaks in life. That is, if you work hard, be honest, and keep learning even after the classes stop, good things will eventually come to you. I'm living proof. If you "let the b@stards get you down", pick yourself up and go right back at it...too many people quit, and make excuses. Be true to yourself, and that won't happen!

And now that my head is swelled to the size of a hot air balloon, Mrs. D won't be able to live with me anymore🙂...thanks for the kind words.🙂 I just hope my words help...

 

[elmo]

Your words have helped. It's good to get advice from someone who's been there, done that and got the t-shirt. 😀 I appreciate it all. Especially at a time when things can be so confusing. You kinda cleared it up for me a little. I spoke to my adviser at Uni today. It felt like a whole load of weight had been taken off my shoulders. He was very supportive and told me that he wasn't gonna try and talk me out of it cos I've already made up my mind and he wants me to be happy. He gave me the choice of whether or not I sit my exams and I think I will. A few extra credits could do me some good.

The next thing would be to tell my aunt and uncle. I'm not looking forward to that. They'll be really disappointed. But it has to be done. And I can't hide it from them forever.

I hope I didn't make your head swell too much, or you'll be sleeping outside! LoL 😀 Thanks again.

 

[killerdwarf]

By all means, sit your exams! Get the credits you've worked for...you earned them, and they may come in handy! If your auntie and uncle are the people you've described, they may not be happy, but they will understand! I advocate finishing what you started, even if you've lost passion for it. If you only finish the things you are passionate about and drop stuff you are not without a closure, you'll be seen as flighty, and possibly selfish...and you definitely are not. Sounds like the counsellor is a keeper! And remember, if you are passionate about something, you will find a way to do it/make it happen!

And you are most welcome! Anytime...!

 

[elmo]

Nope, definately not the quitting kind. This is why it's so difficult to make this kind of decision for me. Music has been my life for 8 years now. I'm gonna sit my exams and get the credits (assuming I pass). What's the point in doing a full year of work and not getting anything out of it? My adviser says I might get a certificate for doing 2 years at uni. Some kind of qualification, not a degree, but it's a start. That way, if all else fails, I'm worth more than a Big Mac and Fries! I can get a job for a while til I sort my life out. Don't want to get used to getting money though. 😀 I won't want to go back to studying. So, if I can, it's straight back to uni for me! 🙂

 

[killerdwarf]

Nope, definately not the quitting kind. This is why it's so difficult to make this kind of decision for me. Music has been my life for 8 years now. I'm gonna sit my exams and get the credits (assuming I pass). What's the point in doing a full year of work and not getting anything out of it? My adviser says I might get a certificate for doing 2 years at uni. Some kind of qualification, not a degree, but it's a start. That way, if all else fails, I'm worth more than a Big Mac and Fries! I can get a job for a while til I sort my life out. Don't want to get used to getting money though. 😀 I won't want to go back to studying. So, if I can, it's straight back to uni for me! 🙂

Sounds to me like your going to be just fine! Carry on! And good luck on those exams!