Preparation

This past week in Dallas has been spent in preparation for my internship. I moved into my brother's one bedroom apartment, unpacked all of my clothes, bought a new alarm clock (one without a snooze button), and blew up my air mattress. On the home front, I would say I am fully prepared. However, the driving situation is another story. My hospital is only about a 15 mile drive, but add in traffic and it quickly becomes an hour bumper-to-bumper drive. Yes, this means I must say good bye to the lovely days of waking up ten minutes before my class starts and still making it a few minutes early. I have a feeling that coffee and I will become the very best of friends.

While all of the preparation that happens before the actual internship is complete, I am not completely positive my mind fully comprehends the situation. I have been attending college classes for the past three years, but was I really paying attention? I'll be honest most of my studying happened around midnight the night before a test. Kristen and I would cram for about three or four hours and then "wing it" from there. Sure I have gotten good grades, but what happens if I didn't store all of those definitions and facts in my long term memory bank? College is supposed to prepare you for your real world job, right? So, why do I feel so unprepared?

At first most people laugh when they find out my major is Leisure Studies - Therapeutic Recreation. However, what they don't realize is the difficulty that is our job. We work with people that have just had their entire world turned upside down. Car accidents, cancers, electrocution, depression, strokes, burn patients, amputees, and schizophrenia. Our patients must start over and learn to live their life again. Sometimes that includes a wheelchair, pace maker, or constant medication. I am supposed to be able to help them heal and begin to enjoy life. I make sure a superstar athlete that just lost his leg, realizes he can still participate in the same activities before his amputation, with a few adjustments. My job not only helps rehabilitate, but it restores hope that was once lost. Talk about a lot of pressure for a brand new intern.

I have been given an amazing opportunity to change and touch people's lives this summer, so pray that I have actually retained some knowledge from the past three years of college. Also, pray that the three million dollars worth of liability insurance I had to purchase isn't needed.