Stories are Just Data With A Soul

Documenting my experiences as a... graduate student in counseling psychology || newlywed || Filipina-American || woman || daughter || friend || adoptee ___________________________________________________________ "Vulnerability is the most accurate measure of courage." -Brene Brown

[datawithasoul]

Reading assignment before the first day of class? Mission accepted.

[therapistconfessions-deactivate]

When I have a free hour between sessions.

[datawithasoul]

I've learned to not sit in any type of chair that moves. I WILL spin, rock, and most of all be completely distracting.

[therapistconfessions-deactivate]

When I was learning how to sit through silence.

[datawithasoul]

Paper weight. #resourceful #lifeofagradstudent #abnormalpsychology #dsmiv

[datawithasoul]

Holy moly. It's arrived! How much bigger is the DSM-V going to be?! #lifeofagradstudent #counselingpsychology #dsmiv #dsm4 #mentaldisorders #psychopathology

[therapistconfessions-deactivate]

When I suggest a client exercise as a way to battle depression.

[datawithasoul]

Brain, meet body.

[jonwithabullet-deactivated20190]

[datawithasoul]

How some people may think therapy sessions look like.

[datawithasoul]

The Myers-Briggs test is always eerily spot on. Good thing I've picked the right profession for an ISFP! #lifeofagradstudent #myersbriggs #licensedmentalhealthcounselor #psychology #isfp

[datawithasoul]

I LOVE my city. #seattleskyline #westseattle #panoramic #alki #springtime #blueskies

[datawithasoul]

Spring Quarter Anxiety

-Classes this quarter: Psychopathology, and Research and Statistics. ...What were those tools I learned last quarter to reduce stress and anxiety?!!! Yes, I am already freaking out about my midterm and final exams. June can't get here fast enough.

[sweettreeninglitter]

[datawithasoul]

...Well, this is how I feel as of right now. By the end of my program I better know what I'm doing!

[datawithasoul]

You are worthy.

[datawithasoul]

3||29||13

 As I begin my third quarter as a graduate student in Counseling Psychology, I've found the need to start documenting my journey. During my undergrad in Social Sciences, I felt a strong interest in a concept known as "intersectionality," which is essentially that place where all of our levels of identity intersect, to form who we are, and we can potentially find better understandings of self, if we can understand the impact of our many identities. We all have different understandings of who we are privately, publicly, and within differing relationships, but what guides our understanding is that place of intersectionality. We are never just one element of our identity. We are the culmination of our strengths and struggles. We are the result of whether or not we have made a decision to remain down, or to pick ourselves back up again. There is strength in realizing that we have the power to change our circumstances.  I preface my future thoughts with the hope that people will understand that I do not speak as any one separate part of my identity, nor do I speak as an expert in any of those categories; but I will always be the expert and author of my own story.