Child Life What?

So it's almost May, almost graduation, and almost time for the rest of my life. With graduation fast approaching I have to continually answer that question that all seniors get sick of by about January,

"So what are you going to do after high school?"

Unfortunately my early graduation did not aide me in not having to answer this question. So what do I want to do? Oh I am going to the University of Iowa….to major in child life.

Child what?

My conversation never ends there, it simply evolves into convincing whoever I am talking too that I am not going to become homeless and living on the streets, and this is indeed a real major and job.

I know this isn't super consistent with other posts, but it's my blog so this is what I'm doing.

Also this thing I'm going to major in and become is what I'm most passionate about (other than Jesus of course) and it's important to me that I educate every single person possible. So here we go!

In the fall of 2014 I'll be heading to the University of Iowa to major in Leisure Studies on the Child Life Track. Woah what a mouthful. I put that on all my scholarships and they will probably get thrown out because it sounds like something I made up. Leisure Studies? Sounds like I'll be spending my college years on the couch. But that is not true! (I mean, mostly anyway.)

What am I going to do with this crazy major? Become a Child Life Specialist (CLS) of course!

Child Life Specialists are "trained professionals with expertise in helping children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events." That is straight off the Child Life Council website. So now you have a clear understanding of how I'll be making a living, right?

Well…probably not. So let me enlighten you a little more…..

WITH SOME MORE COUNCIL QUOTES.

"Child life specialists promote effective coping through play, preparation, education, and self-expression activities."

"They provide emotional support for families, and encourage optimum development of children facing a broad range of challenging experiences, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization."

"Because they understand that a child’s wellbeing depends on the support of the family, child life specialists provide information, support and guidance to parents, siblings, and other family members."

"They also play a vital role in educating caregivers, administrators, and the general public about the needs of children under stress."

They just put it in such an eloquent way. I'm still working on my delivery, which can range from a 10 second explanation to a 10 minute speech, depending on how much the person I'm talking to actually cares.

Here's whats up. Basically I want to work in a hospital. I don't want to be a nurse or doctor. I want to help children cope, through what they know how to do best, be kids. I want to help them understand what a heart surgery is by demonstrating on their teddy bear. I want to distract them from IV's with bubbles and toys. I want to make sure that in the midst of chemo they still get to play. I want families to feel comfortable in the hospital, I don't want siblings to be left out. I want to make Christmas at the hospital just as fun as the one at home and I want to make sure sicks kids still get to make messes and paint and play dress-up because nothing should stop a kid from being a kid.

My career path is not an easy one. It sounds like I will be playing and watching movies all day, but that is not true. You cannot work around sick kids and have an easy job. 

My dream is to move to the east coast and work at a large children's hospital with terminally ill children. 

Before I can even think of doing that, however, I have to get into the program at Iowa, where about 30 out of 100 applicants will get accepted. Volunteer hours, expereince with kids, and grades are only a few of the things they consider for applicants.

I have to keep up my grades, because internships require good grades, St. Judes, for example requires a 3.5. 

Then I have to apply for internships, of which there are few. There are approximately 5,000 hospitals in the United States. 400 of these have child life programs. Fewer than that have internships. That may sound like a lot, but when I'm competing with every other child life student in the United States for a limited number of spots it's not.

To get certified I then have to complete the certification exam, a four hour, 150 question test that I must pass in order to become a certified child life specialist.

Then I'm off to find a job which, again are growing, but are few and difficult to get sometimes. Then, hopefully, after I find a job I can work on getting my master's degree. And as you can imagine, I won't be getting paid very much.

I've known that I wanted to do this since I was fifteen, after volunteering for a year at Blank Children's Hospital with child life specialists in the playroom. This is my calling, this is God's plan for my life, I know it. But it won't be an easy one. But I love it so much, I already do. I know it will require me to work hard and put myself out there. It could easily include many disappointments. But somehow I will get there and it will be amazing.

It's good to know what I want to do with my life, but it also brings forth an array of problems. It's hard to trust God's plan when I'm often so convinced that mine is perfect already. It is showing me how to trust Him and His timing, and how my future and my plans don't define who I am. 

That is child life, though, and I hope you learned something from it. It won't be easy, but it will be exciting, and I can't wait to get started on this new journey.