Hello All, and welcome to the next installment of Making my Mark on the world. In this brief post, I share a current frustration.
I am always interested in normalizing mental health and reducing any stigma related to it. I realized that I have not shared the fact that I see a psychiatrist 4 times a year or so. It is really no different than getting a physical, but the focus is behavioral. Anyhow, I am sharing this detail now because I have become frustrated with my psychiatrist. This has happened before. He and I have philosophical differences. I have a ton of respect for him. He is very smart and hardworking, but he is also very conventional.
Tradition and convention are not bad at all; however, sometimes his convention and frankness come off as a little much. In my last post, I mentioned that I had applied for an academic advisor position and why this excites me.
I told this to him, and what was his response? It was something along the lines of, “That’s not very realistic, you’re not really qualified and should be applying to more realistic options.” Ouch.
I see where he is coming from. I both agree and disagree with his statement. In a traditional sense, am I the most qualified candidate to be an academic advisor? Maybe not. However, I have extensive experience working at a university in various capacities. I won’t go into too much detail on my experience here, but I have worked as a teaching assistant, a research assistant, an athletics event staff member, and a resident assistant. That is a lot of experience in several different areas of higher education. I believe that it has prepared me to get into advising.
Further, he also said something along the lines of “well, do you really think you’re the best person to provide academic and career advice given your own situation.” Double ouch.
I have had some struggles career wise, and more recently, academically. However, I am proud of my academic record. My career is still in its early phase, but I believe that I have yet to find the right fit. I think that my story could be relevant to other students. As I’ve mentioned, growth is not always linear. In college, I always realized that I could not do everything alone. That is why I would frequently go to the career center for resume assistance. I would go to the writing center when I had a big paper due (commas are tricky). All of that is to say, I am familiar with navigating the college ecosystem and taking advantage of the myriad resources available on campus.
Additionally, as mentioned, helping students is an area where I am passionate. The thought of being an influential factor in someone’s academics, career, and life motivates me. It is a motivation that I have lacked in the past, and motivation is powerful.
I realize that this post was a bit of a rant. However, I wanted to share thoughts that are coming up for me and frustrating me. I haven’t really shared a lot of my frustrations here, but as I am learning, it is important to share emotions and be expressive.
Thank you for taking the time to read Making my Mark on the world. I am grateful that you are here, and I am wishing you all the best on this Tuesday night.
Hey Mark. First - that was a good way to describe your relationship with your psychiatrist, so we can sense your frustration, but also understand your respect for him. Sometime people tell us things that we don't really want to hear. But it also sounds like he is asking you if the academic advisor position would work, not telling you that you shouldn't try to do it. That's a big difference. He is asking you to question yourself and come up with answers. I guess that's what a good psychiatrist does!
So, I had mentioned that my background is in higher education. Are you familiar with the role of an academic advisor? These may already be things you know: They are responsible for helping students select the appropriate courses to complete their chosen degree; They help students stay on track to complete their degree; They work with transcripts to evaluate credits that will transfer into the system; They use software (something like CampusVue or others) to track a student's progress; They may be responsible for contacting students that have dropped from a program (depends upon the school); They help students talk through challenges they may be having with program completion; They help students who want to change a major or a course; They typically have a fairly large case load of students (again depends on the school) that they manage. Depending on the school, you could be working with younger students or older adults. Each of those comes with its own set of challenges!
The job can be very rewarding. It can also be frustrating (just like most jobs! At least you won't have a sore arm from scooping ice cream!). It requires a degree (I think you have that....)
Anyhow....just wanted help give you some perspective. I hope this is helpful for you.
Powerful share 🙌 people who tell you you can’t do something based on snap judgements, in my experience, are simply projecting their own wounds. People underestimate their own capabilities, especially when those surrounding them are telling them what is and isn’t possible. Sometimes we don’t even realize there’s any other way to live.
Although your therapist’s intention is to help, not harm, however, this backfires when it’s not coming from a pure place.
Be the change you want to see in the world. Believe in yourself and show people what’s possible if they simply raised the ceiling of their own destiny.