Let me start this post by saying that I love my job. I'm a school counselor and I'm not exaggerating when I say that there is no job I'd rather do. Where else could I have conversations with kids about who the best character on The Walking Dead is, or which FNAF game is the hardest, or which character from Steven Universe is the coolest and get paid for it?
I had a student today at lunch who said to me: "how do you make people feel good?"
"What do you mean?" I replied to him, not sure that I understood him over the low din of the lunchroom.
"This morning [a girl from his class] was crying and she went to talk to you, and when she came back she was happy." He explained. "What did you do?"
That was probably the best compliment I have received since I became a school counselor. Gaining the admiration and trust of students has always come very easily to me, and a lot of times when kids are begging me to sit with them at lunch and giving me high fives in the hallway I start to feel like some kind of rock star. But to be honest sometimes I let that feeling go to my head and I start to think that just because the kids like me it means that I'm doing well at my job. And that's not how it works at all. I do want the kids to look up to me so that I can be a good role model for them, but just because the kids think that I''m cool doesn't mean that I'm having a positive impact on their lives. So it's good to hear when I'm making a difference, and I hope that I can continue to do so.
To answer that kids question though, I don't know what I did. Sometimes students like the girl he was talking about come into my office and I roll my eyes because I think I'm about to hear some drama about how someone stole their boyfriend (yes, I have kids as young as the second grade who have that "problem") and they start talking and the next thing I know I'm getting teary eyed myself because I'm broken by the heavy burdens that their little minds are carrying every day. And then comes the part where I'm supposed to say something and I have no idea what is going to come out of my mouth. And sometimes God will give me deep profound things to say that I can't believe my vocal chords formed and after the students leave I have to go and write them down so I don't forget what God used me to explain. But usually I have nothing, and I just have to settle for letting them know that they are loved and cared about. Either way, it's in those moments when I feel completely helpless that God really decides to work through me and I see the lives of students change; not in the moments when I'm using my natural charisma and knowledge of Disney Channel cartoons to win the students approval. I guess having that charisma helps too though when I'm working with them later, so it's this beautiful combination of using the natural ability that God gave me to win kids over and trusting Him to lead me when my built in talents can't carry me any farther.
All that just to say again that I love my job. I genuinely enjoy having conversations with students, and that's my job description in a nutshell. They make me laugh and teach me new things every day, and I can't wait for tomorrow morning and all of the weekday mornings to come!
