At Last, Success

I haven’t written in a while due to many factors, the most telling being Dad’s death. I’ve just felt kind of blah, a bit unmotivated and a little weepy. Writing about Dad helps tremendously and I will post another reflective piece soon. Until it’s finished, though, I want to share a most excellent news bite: the technology barrier that existed to take the  marriage and therapy professional exam has been resolved. Yes, after two years of my letters, email, and phone calls falling upon deaf ears, the Empire State finally got the news that I was a victim of discrimination. In one week after the  new deputy director heard of my situation, she flicked a magic wand and `poof!` the laptop, standard keyboard  and screen reading software  magically appeared.  I was suddenly a hot item and received calls from the State as well as the testing proctors, who outdid one another with profuse apologies. I imagine they might have bowed and kissed my slippers if not for the contact being performed via the phone lines.

 

Anyway, the person who stuck with me and pushed was a State employee and for whom I owe this success. Brian Daniels, I love you.

 

Moving forward, I have registered and paid the $245 for the exam coming up in May/June. I can’t wait to get this all behind me. It’s been  six years since I graduated with a master’s in the field of marriage and family therapy and over ten years since I first decided to pursue a license-eligible profession. It shouldn’t have taken this long but this is water under the bridge.

 

What have I learned? I learned not to give up or give in, to not lose hope even when things seemed to be a dead end. Once I pass the exam, I will go to the next logical career move, becoming a certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor. Then, maybe a Ph.D. I am looking into programs now and will continue to research my options and shoot for a 2014 enrollment.