Future Potential

Everyone knows that I’ve wanted to be an author since my sophomore year of high school.  Well, at least you know now.  Before that I wanted to be an actress.  Actress/singer, actually.  I wanted to be in movies, singing songs, dancing, etc.  Even though I can’t really dance.

Anyway.  I never thought I had to think about what I wanted to be.  It was just a matter of ataining it once I got old enough to be able to.  But now I’ve started thinking.  I mean, the different jobs that I’ve had that have lasted any amount of time weren’t ones that you’d call great.  I mean, a church cleaning job?  A janitor at a gym?  A McDonald’s back worker?  The only jobs that could have gotten me anywhere were the ones I had at Fashion Bug and Barnes and Noble.  But both of them had something in common.  I only had those jobs for a month before I got fired.

Yeah, that sucked.  I couldn’t go into Barnes and Noble for months afterward.

But I’m not writing this entry for pity, or because I’m feeling sorry for myself.  I’ve entertained the thought of being one of three things as my main career while I write/publish my novels on the side.  Either an English teacher, a guidance couselor, or a psychologist.  My logic?  I like helping people, I am fond of writing and books, and I’d love to help other people not make the same mistakes I have.  Or at least to get out of similar mistakes with as little harm as possible.

I’ve been thinking the last few days and I’ve come to a conclusion.  I’m going to go back to school.  Tomorrow, I’m going to go to Brookdale and see what kind of curriculum can be set up for me to get my Associate’s in psychology and if that’s enough of a degree for me to be able to start up my own practice.  I want to help people and though I’ll have a general knowledge over all psychology, I know which two areas I’m going to specialize in.  Abuse and eating disorders.  I’m going to see if I can start up my own hotline, or abuse shelter or someplace where basically people can call or come in, and they will be listened to.  No one will be turned away.  Everyone will be listened to and their stories will be investigated.  None of the “there has to be solid proof” crap.  Because sometimes there isn’t solid proof until an investigation is done.  And I will most definitely administer the evaluation myself.

And it’s thanks to Jess that I decided to help in the eating disorder category, too.  I want to see people recover from things like that.  Or perhaps never start in the first place.  I can see myself, talking at schools and the like later on, as well as advertising my books along the way.

Psychology can be my main source of incomeand novel writing will be on the side.  And if this shelter thing shapes up later on i my career, it can be a place where abused kids can stay where they can receive therapy and won’t have to wory about going home.  They’ll have someplace they can stay.

This way, those abuse coin collection things that are at all the stores will actualy have some truth in them when they say, “Allowing abuse gives us all a black eye.”  Because sure as Hell, no one gives a flying f*ck about that saying now.

I’m psyched about this.  I want to do it.  I’m going to Brookdale tomorrow and I’m gonna get the information, get yself a curriculum, and start working towards this goal.  I’m gonna see what classe I need, and I’m gonna take the ones I hate first.  That way  get them outta the way and can focus on the ones I really want and need to pull this off.

I’ve got great potential here.  Now, I need to take action.