First: shameless plug time. Remember how I told you guys that LIFT has its own blog (if you don’t remember, click here)? Well, courtesy of our PR Student Advocate, LIFT-Chicago now has its very own tumblr! And I’m the very first featured student advocate to be profiled!! The blog is great, and I highly encourage you all to check it out.
Now to the real-and-raw, the nitty gritty, the heart-in-throat realization of my week.
I am currently enrolled in Loyola’s five-year program for English majors. This means that, by taking graduate courses now, I can get both my B.A. and my M.A. in English in less than a year. The plan was originally to continue on to a PhD program after completing this program, teach at the college level, and immerse myself in the world of academia. My not-so-inner nerd was completely thrilled at the idea of pouring over articles and publishing my findings on gender relations in Daisy Miller or Middlemarch.
Recently, however, I have been having doubts about this plan. I enjoy my classes but feel that I do not necessarily enjoy them to the point of obsession. I don’t always ask questions about the readings as much as I should and yes, I even commit the ultimate English-major sin of wondering WHY we bother talking about certain aspects of a literary work down to the tiniest of details
These questions were at the forefront of my mind when I went to my shift at LIFT this Friday. My intake meeting with a new client had ended on time (9:50) so I walked out to the lobby to grab a glass of water and gather housing resources for my next client. I started chatting with a woman who was there to make a phone call to request a meeting at Gift of Sight, which is a voucher program that provides people with free glasses and free or discounted eye exams. Since my 10:00 client had not yet shown up, I decided to make a few phone calls for her. I left a message at the Gift of Sight in Skokie and provided her with comprehensive directions of how to get there via public transportation once she secured an appointment slot.
Once that was done, I asked her if there was something else she wanted to accomplish. She laughed and said, “Child, you’ve done all this and I wasn’t even supposed to have an appointment today. I’m counting my lucky stars.” As she collected her coat, she continued: “You know, you really are good at what you do. I can tell you love people, and you’re gonna go far on that some day. Don’t you forget it.”
Honestly, I almost teared up at the sincerity of that statement, and not simply because it was a wonderful compliment. She had reinforced the idea that, based on my strengths, I am meant to do something in my future that requires working with people, something that makes a concrete difference. Based on my earlier premonitions, I knew that this plan would not involve a PhD in English, though it may still have something to do with teaching, so I should finish the M.A. degree that I am already working toward.
At the moment, I’m still trying to figure out what my new plan is, and for what purpose I will use my newly-edited resume. However, I am glad that I realized this amendment sooner rather than later. This event reiterated what I’ve said before: at LIFT, we Student Advocates exist entirely to help our clients, but our clients help us in far different ways than we may have imagined.
Why I LIFT for LIFT-Chicago 