Why did I decide to become a social worker?

This is a question I get so many times, and for good reason. We make difficult decisions during difficult situations. We don’t get paid well for the amount of work that we accomplish. We see the worst of the worst sometimes.

The second semester of my freshman year I took an Intro to Social Work class, just to look into it. In high school I had been interested in counseling but after some research I realized that counselors could be limited. I entered this class, with a non-traditional professor, interesting discussion, and one very important aspect: helping people. I’ve always had a drive to help people, I’d just never consciously realized it. I learned so many things about society, life, myself, and I could not stop talking about it. I was hooked. As a freshman I learned about the cycle of abuse, crime, explanations for actions that people take, and I’m honestly addicted to all of it. Even more, I’m addicted to how to help people fix it. There are theories that are applicable! They are science and practice based, proven to be successful.You are required to problem solve and network with other professionals. It's a constant brain teaser.

At my core though, these are not the reasons that I chose to become a social worker. I am okay with helping the ‘worst of the worst’ in society. I know that I’m not going to save the world, not everyone is at a place in his or her life where they are ready to help themselves. I will experience heartbreak and trauma. I will be discouraged. I accept this because of the small blips of hope that I already have and believe that I will continue to experience. I expect that seven out of ten of my cases will have difficult outcomes. This might be an overestimate, I’m not sure yet. But I look forward to those three cases. Those three cases will make everything worth it.

I plan on working with a wide range of individuals. I’m fascinated with exiting strategies for individuals in the justice system, juveniles and adults. With this population my goal is to successfully exit a client out of the system. I want to cross paths with them, indirectly. I want to see them happy and successful from afar. I do not want to gloat in my success, but I want to celebrate the wonderful outcome of their hard work.

I also have a passion for advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and hope to have a center specifically catering to the needs of this community. I’m passionate about being an ally, and I suddenly have skills to make an impact on a larger scale. I don’t plan on taking that for granted.

So I won’t get paid well, and I will have to be the bad guy a lot. I’m going to see individuals of all ages in sad, traumatic and dangerous situations. However, I’m going to get to see people find their self-efficacy. I’m going to get a front row seat to experience my clients find their success and happiness in life. This is what I live for. I’ve found my passion in life, and that is why I chose to become a social worker. I will get compensated with self-fulfillment, which is all I can ask for.

I graduate in May 2017, and I cannot wait.