Is it 2012 Already?!

A year ago, I was asked to be the 2011 blogger. Although the writer in me loved the idea, the new professional was admittedly terrified. I wasn't sure I'd have enough to write about, that I'd be self-aware enough to recognize my mistakes, and that I would be brave enough to admit to them so publicly.

And somehow, approximately 50 posts later, here we are. This blog has given me a space to share the experiences I've had in my first year post-MSW, it's allowed me a forum to express my NASW-aligned beliefs, it's presented me the opportunity to ask you all for advice, and it's forced me to reexamine so many of the things I thought I knew.

In the year of weekly blog posts, I've earned my LMSW, watched marriage equality pass in NY, lost my first job due to restructuring, and have become increasingly aware of how important the social work community is, in all its incarnations.

The latest edition of The New Social Worker Magazine has just come out, in which I've shared my New Year's Resolutions. I hope they will encourage you to make your own and to begin and live your 2012 in the best possible light.

More though, I hope you know how important you've all been as I've chronicled my past year here. Some of you have commented, some of you have emailed privately, some of you have simply clicked to let me know when you've found something cool, interesting and/or funny. Regardless, you've been participants in my life. You've taken moments from your own busy schedules to peek into my world and for that, I am both incredibly humbled and unspeakably grateful.


In Social Work Solidarity, Your 2011 Blogger, Kryss

The company I keep

I may be one of the few people who can be somewhat grateful for the state of the economy.

It is actually a good thing that I need to cut back my hours from 40 to 30 next semester. My editor said she might have had to cut some people's hours if revenue didn't pick up, so I feel like I took one for the team! Who says I'm not a team player?

Wow. Talk about timing. If business was booming, she might have said, "Sorry. We need you here 40 hours, or else..."

Instead, she said she might not be able to bring my status back to 40 hours immediately following the semester's end. I told her I didn't expect her to, and I know it would be hard for me to go back to 40 anyway.

I am counting my blessings today. I get to stay a while longer at a decent wage and, most importantly, I get to keep my benefits. That was my deal breaker. I carry the benefits for my husband and me, and I was most concerned about that.

I can keep my full benefits as long as I work 30 hours per week.

So, what do you think, fellow students and Master's level social workers? Can I work 30 hours, do a (weekly) 20-hour field practice, take 4 classes and get all my studying and homework done?
I'd really like to hear your stories. How did you do it?

I sometimes worry about the toll on my marriage and my mental health in terms of all of this "doing." I have to remind myself it is temporary. Just one and a-half years to go!

--Ms. T. J.