Relationships that show Passion and Compassion

I woke up this morning and the clock said 6:58. AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I needed to be on my way to the bus by 7:10. This never happens, I was so flustered by waking up and being so late, not to mention that it is so early and I am so tired. I was so glad that I did not have to present our cultural group presentation because I was so groggy when I got into class.

I was really upset that I missed the trip to Quinte Mohawk School. Students in the class shared about their experiences and they had while visiting for the Harvest Festival. They all sounded like they had a great time. If the opportunity came up that I could go visit to the school I will definitely do that.

We had a guest speaker in our class today Andy Leggett. He is a CYC that has been working in the field for more years that I have been alive! I remember back in first year he came to speak to us. It was in our methodology class that was taught by Lisa. Andy spoke a little bit about his work but mostly he came to talk about the OACYC which is the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counsellers. He talked about the history of Child and Youth Counsellers and what the OACYC can provide for us as professionals coming into the field. I remember wishing that he would speak more about what he did on a day to day basis. He briefly touched on his work in Labrador that day but I wanted to know more.

Today though he came to speak to us about the the different work he does. It was awesome to hear his stories and to hear about his experiences. The most important thing that he said that was essential for working in the field was having passion and compassion for the clients and your work. He spoke so honestly about his own personal journey to get where he was at today. He said that he did get frustrated and sometimes he questioned why he was in the field, but he knew he had a passion for kids and that is why he stayed in the field. When he was working at a home with children he spoke about being frustrated and tired. To him that was the sign to find something different. It was great to hear him be so honest. It let me know that it is okay to be frustrated sometimes with work and to take those moments as signs to find passion in your work again.

Andy also talked about his work in Labrador with the Innu people. He told us many stories about different clients he has worked with from there. He told us about his experiences visiting the remote reserves. He talked about especially when he first went there he was spit at and harassed. Andy explained to us how people view him now has changed because of the effort he has put forth to build relationships with the people of the community.

I want to take 2 things away from today and never forget them.
✓ I need to have passion AND compassion
✓ Building relationships is key!
These two points will help me when working with children in this field because it is not abra-kadbra business. Things do not happen that fast. Child and youth work is a process. You have to experiment and try many things to help so many different children. But before that even happens you have to show them they can trust you. Finding passion in your work and showing clients and their family compassion is how you can start to build relationships and gain that trust.

WHOA man!!! Sometimes I wish I had a folder in my head that I could put really important stuff that I will NEVER forget.

All in all, I am glad that I woke up and went to class.

And....that is all for Leah's words today.