A name tag

Holy smokes! I guess I'm official now - I have a name tag and everything! Too bad that name tag still doesn't keep me from having to sign in as a visitor at some schools. Seems like those office ladies refuse to believe that I am indeed NOT a visitor even though I've explained to them on multiple occasions that I work at that school. And now I even have a name tag to prove it! lol oh well...

On the subject of being an almost professional, I also have my very own HUGE desk in an office that I share with 2 other ladies (my primary supervisor and the general music teacher). It's full of instruments and resources. Everything a beginning music therapist could ask for. Now if only I could get the logistics of toting instruments around everywhere figured out, my days would run a little more smoothly.

Today was my first day of actually getting to plan and lead part of the session. It was AMAZING. I love working with the kids. At first I thought, I would be extremely nervous and that I would just be looking forward to the day being over. But honestly, the more sessions that I did, the more comfortable it became and the more I enjoyed what I was doing. It felt so good to be in that position again. The last three weeks I've been flat out observing which, don't get me wrong, is very valuable. A lot can be learned from watching the professionals working in your field. But man was I getting stir crazy!! I was so ready to get my hands on those kids! I have the best group of kids on Monday mornings (not to mention some of the best staff members which can seriously make A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE). It so nice to start the week out right with an excited, energetic, and absolutely adorable group of kindergartners.

I'm still loving Atlanta. Although I'm hardcore missing everyone back home. While my professional life is finally picking up, my personal life seems to be slowing down. Things are somewhat lonely and I seem to be struggling to make genuine connections with people my age. I keep telling my people back home that I know my future friends are out here somewhere, but I just can't seem to find them. It's like they're hiding from me...

I'm slowly but surely adjusting to traffic. Although, it still makes me LIVID especially on days that I have to drive to the south part of the county (when I drive south I have to drive straight through downtown Atlanta...which no matter the time is ALWAYS a hot mess!). Gimme 6 more months and I just might figure it out :)

Until next time! Gonna go eat some wheat thins, sip on a diet coke, and watch the fountain from my deck!

Thoughts from the deck

Okay so before I jump into my thoughts/description of my internship, I promised pictures of my beautiful Atlanta home:

This is the side view of my beautiful house. If you follow the stairs all the way down you would get to the basement entrance of the house which consists of my housemate's studio and my room (my housemate is a violinist for the Atlanta Symphony and she is an absolutely PHENOMENAL lady!).

This is a close up of the deck in the first pic (I am currently sitting here while writing this). I love being able to sit outside all the time and work on paperwork or surf the internet or play checkers or just spend time reflecting. Georgia is such a beautiful state and I am so blessed to be surrounded by that beauty right outside my door!

This is the view straight off my deck. I live on a pond in which my neighbors built a fountain. It is absolutely GORGEOUS out here. The picture definitely doesn't do it justice. Everything is soooooo green! I feel like I'm in a jungle of sorts! :)
This is a close up of my pond with the fountain. I LOVE THIS FOUNTAIN! It makes me sad when it's not on. My neighbors have it on a timer so it doesn't run all day.

Today was my third day of internship. Last Friday we had orientation which was on overwhelming plethora of information. My director talks a thousand miles a minute and she might be the most animated person I have ever met. In fact, I think she might secretly be Superwoman. I have no idea how she manages to do everything that she does, but I do know that she genuinely cares for the interns and wants us to gain everything we possible can from this internship. It is so refreshing to feel that someone genuinely wants me to succeed and be the best that I can be.

I have been assigned to 6 schools: 4 elementary school, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. The majority of my schools are in the north part of the county. This is good b/c it takes me away from traffic in the morning! :) hehe I have 4 supervisors with 1 of the 4 being my primary supervisor. I get to spend 2 days a week with her. I do have a crazy story about her, but I think that will have to wait for another day. 1 of the 4 is also my director. I absolutely CANNOT wait to see her in action. Since there are 10 music therapists on staff, I'm spending this week observing some of the therapists that I won't see on a regularly basis. I don't actually get to start spending time at my schools until next week.

I'm not really sure how to describe what I feel about all the events yet...not including orientation I'm only 2 days into the experience. And in those 2 days there have been a number of ups and downs. It's interesting to watch professionals at work. I have so many questions that I want to ask. I have so many new ideas that I want to express. But sometimes I don't know if I would be overstepping my boundaries to communicate them. I just feel like there is so much to learn from so many therapists. I wanna know everything from all them - I wanna know about their different perspectives, experiences, training, etc. There never seems to be enough time to process.

I'm trying to stay open-minded to all the events occurring in my life right now both professionally and personally. Sometimes it still feels surreal to be so far away from home...

Lawrence was my town, Atlanta is my city!

So I've officially been in Atlanta, GA for two and a half weeks now. It has been an exciting two weeks between being a tourist, learning to drive in traffic, and settling into my new home! I start my internship tomorrow and I'm excited and nervous. I know I will learn a lot over the next 7 months. BUT it will be so nice to FINALLY get started! In the meantime here are some pics from my recent adventures:

The World of Coca-Cola with the AMAZING polar bear!

The Water Gardens at Centennial Olympic Park - so beautiful! Definitely one of my favorite places so far!


Kevin and I on top of Stone Mountain! We also did a ropes course there at 36 feet in the air - it was AWESOME! Kevin faced his fear of heights :)

Patricia and I had a rustic adventure this week. We cooked out on a charcoal grill at Cheaha Lake and then 'hiked' up to Bald Rock on Mount Cheaha in Alabama. This is me sitting on Bald Rock overlooking the Talladega National Forest.

SOOOO in my next post I hope to include some pics of my new home and more information on my internship!! :)