from mission (near) impossible to mission accomplished

i know that look, the look that almost always guarantees the "magic" question: "so... what is that exactly?". i've been told that they don't want to come across looking stupid, they don't want to make wild guesses, the name is too bizarre to figure out. let's start with the latter: "counselling", it is a simple word.. the former, "genetic", well that has to do with something complex.. but put together, it's nearly always incomprehensible.

i used to dread the question. it never fails to make me smile though, sometimes it's just an awkward smile, sometimes i just try to make it less awkward for the other party, sometimes it just reminds me why i love, or rather, why i think i will love what i do. so i begin my spiel, one that i have tweaked and adapted over time. one that is still evolving, and will continue to change. each time i explain it, i reveal a different side of it. i often fear that people who have heard it multiple times may get confused, and wonder why it's different to what i've told them.

i can hardly believe it was just 22 months ago that i stepped into an unfamiliar building, in an unfamiliar state, in an unfamiliar country. who'd ever guess that i had never been down under for in my two decades of life. i went in in warily, not sure of what to expect, but quite very sure that was what i wanted to do. i left taking away so much more than i would have ever imagined, but still just as sure, if not even more sure, that this is what I want to do. it's no straight path, and there will be steep hills ahead, but that's what makes it challenging and exciting. it is depressing, for sure, and i would hope never to see my friends as one of my patients/clients, but i truly endeavour to make a difference to those whose paths cross mine.

i must say i was truly blessed with great classmates. we met as strangers, clicked like fast friends, bonded like buddies, grew to be girlfriends. some diverged, a couple converged, others moved into a slower lane. i'm a sentimental sucker, so the 11 people i first met will always have a special place in my heart. i'm blessed that they were not racist, i'm blessed that i was able to use my abilities to help them, i'm blessed that they were there for me.

15,000 words was no mean feat. then again, slicing 20,000 odd to 15,000 was probably the harder task. trying to wrap my head around my data, trying to appreciate and make sense of it, growing to know it like the back of my hand, being confident in my findings, being able to present it with zeal, that, that was the process. and from that, i had great satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.

never in my wildest dreams would i have imagined completing another degree, much less a masters, before hitting a quarter of a century. but i did. i did it with much love and support, and i did it by God's grace.

the finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.