Perception Perspiration

Dear Digital Diary,

I write to you with calm in my heart, peace in my mind, and happiness in my soul. Seriously, it's been a year of ups and downs, and finally i have reached some steady plateau where i can lay my feet to rest and just enjoy the ride. It's already April and I have no idea where time has gone. I guess when you are working the days and weeks just fly by! Well I have some new exciting stories to share with you....lets start with:

work! I love my job!! I work with people who have suffered from a traumatic brain injury basically trying to reestablish cognitive skills such as memory (short and long term), perception, awareness, language and mathematical reasoning skills... anything that requires your brain, which is everything! It is my job to help restore the brain functioning to preinjury functioning, or at least try to improve quality of life . It is daunting, slow, sometimes frustrating work but i find it enjoyable, challenging, and incredibly rewarding. I have come to know some clients quite well, and I really do care alot for them. Everyday is a new day at work, sometimes the clients are complaint and the day runs smoothly. Other days nobody wants to go to therapy, getting them to talk to you or respond to your requests is like pulling teeth. But i must say, whether things run smoothly or go haywire... everyday is enjoyable! I especially love running the dance groups... its a nice break in the day, and many of the clients love it! I like how I have a chance to really get to know and understand my clients. I spend anywhere from an hour to ten hours a week with any given client, and this time frame really allows me to interact with the client's on a deeper level.
Recently one of my clients passed away. He was young man in his late forties. The news of his death was shocking because it was really quite sudden. I was also saddened because the man died utterly unhappy. His wife and children had abandoned him, and he was aware of this fact. Now I know dealing with a family member who has a brain injury must be extremely taxing both emotionally and physically, nevertheless no one should feel abandoned. I mean if tomorrow my parents, sister, and friends decide to abandon me, I will probably lose the will to live. This job constantly reminds me of what is important in this life. Family, friends, love, health, happiness, and humility are so much valuable than money, fame, and material riches. You can have all the money in the world but if you don't have people that love you, and health to enjoy it, and friends to share it with then what good is any amount of money? This job has shown me that everyday is a gift, what I have today is not guaranteed tomorrow.
Anyways enough about my job!! Basically i really do enjoy it, and I am so happy things happened the way they did a couple of months ago because I think I am right where I need to be right now.
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Also I started volunteering at Manavi. Manavi is basically an organization that serves South Asian women who have suffered physical, mental, or verbal abuse. When I heard about this organization I knew I Had to work or volunteer there.
I have been so lucky to have such a great female role model in my life. My mother has shown me through her words, thoughts, and most importantly actions what it means to be an independent, strong, and successful woman. The relationship between my mom and my dad is that of an equal partnership, and i know my mom would never withstand any type of abuse from my dad. In the workplace, my mom has carved out a respectful, lucrative, and successful career as a Nurse working for the state of New Jersey Health and senior services department. My mom is not the prototypical Indian woman putting her dreams and desires on the back burner. Instead she takes care of her family, as well as herself. My mom makes her cake and eats as well, and this is what i love and respect about her. I think if more woman had these role models in their lives then they would be less prone to tolerate abuse. If women knew that there was more to them then the prototypical wife, mother, daughter-in-law,housekeeper, daughter role then maybe she would strive for a better life. My mom and dad have always given me and my sister Independence and strength. My dad has never told me and my sister we could not achieve something because we were female. Or they never stop us from going out just because we are girls. My parents acknowledge our abilities and encourage our emotional and physical growth. i believe these women lacked this nurturing environment. I am so happy to have the opportunity to help women less fortunate then myself. I am really looking forward to working with Manavi more in the future.
anyways must get back to work,
PEACE,
Nandita

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