by Sammy | Jan 27, 2017 | Intern's Corner
Never say never. I have the bad habit of saying “I’m never going to (insert comment here) because I just don’t like it.” I use this phrase frequently, almost daily, about various aspects of my life. I’ve proved myself wrong over and over again because I’m currently doing things that I said I would “never” do in life. For example, I said I would never teach lessons. At my internship, I teach music lessons for piano and over the past six months, I am realizing that I LOVE it; now I’m considering teaching piano and flute lessons after my internship because it’s something that I enjoy doing and I love working with students.
I’ve heard myself say “in the future, I never want to do this” so many times in the past few months so I wonder why do I say it in the first place? It might be because something seems uncomfortable at first, but after practice and experience everything does get easier and more comfortable. Part of growing as a person is realizing that your tastes, likes, and dislikes change over time. Looking five years into the future, after learning and practicing, I might enjoy an activity that I absolutely dislike right now. The truth is that by saying “never” to something, it limits my outlook and prevents me from expanding, learning, and growing. The brain is a powerful thing and it hears me saying to myself that I will never do something, which causes me have a general negative attitude towards that situation. However, I’m very fortunate that I’m surrounded by people who push me despite hearing me say that “I never want to do” something.
Keep an open mind when trying new things. Always. Also, stop saying never! I’m striving to take that word completely out of my vocabulary. It’s a toxic word that prevents growth and limits a person from finding their true potential. That’s the lesson that I’ve learned this week and probably one that I will keep learning throughout my life. Just because something is hard right now, doesn’t mean that it won’t get easier over time; I might find myself to actually enjoy it!
Thanks for reading!
Sammy Springer
by Sammy | Jan 20, 2017 | Intern's Corner
Last week I wrote about three reminders that I would tell myself in the past in order to help overcome challenges. This week I would like to reflect and share with you three things I would like to keep in mind as I continue practicing as a board-certified music therapist after internship. If you are in this stage of life as well, finishing up internship and deciding what is to come next, I challenge you to think about what you could possibly remind yourself in the future, especially when times get tough or seem difficult.
1. Keep an open mind.
When I continue on through my career, I need to remind myself to continue keeping an open mind about any situation I may encounter. This has been my theme of the past week; just because I may not fully enjoy something right at this moment, it doesn’t mean that, in the future, I won’t enjoy it or have developed the skills to be effective in a particular situation. This can apply to all aspects of life including clinical situations, certain foods, and other activities.
2. Trust yourself.
As Katey always says to me, “You’re the expert! What is there to worry about?” So as I enter into my career, I need to believe and trust in myself more than ever. Even when I feel that I don’t know what I’m doing, I do know because I’ve received excellent training and guidance in the past. You CAN do it because you ARE the expert!
3. Take care of yourself!
This is probably the biggest reminder that I need to tell myself everyday after my internship. I’ve been experiencing multiple problems that have stemmed from muscle weakness. I haven’ t been taking care of myself the way I should and it has effected my guitar playing and overall personal health. When I start my new job, I need to be proactive about strengthening my muscles so that it medical problems don’t get in the way of my clinical skills.
Thanks!
Sammy Springer
by Sammy | Jan 13, 2017 | Intern's Corner
3 Things I Would Tell My Younger Self
As I come to the end of my internship (I still have a few more weeks…but I’m almost done!), I’ve reflected on how much I’ve grown these past few months as an individual. I wish I could go back in time to five years ago or even six months ago and give myself some advice about life, school, and internship.
Give your opinion…it’s important. I just figured this out this week, but I wish I had learned to give my opinion years ago. Everyone’s opinion matters and it’s especially important to share your opinion, if it’s respectful and kind, with someone else if you have something valuable to say. It’s emotionally draining to keep your feelings and opinions to yourself. While sharing your own opinions is important, it’s just as essential to listen to other’s opinions as well. Sharing your own opinions with other people and having an open conversation can lead to further growth and learning.
Don’t worry so much! You’re going to be just fine. I’m still learning about this, but the amount of time I spend worrying has decreased significantly over the course of my internship. Sessions, documentation, handling stress-it all gets easier with practice, which happens over time. Therefore, I would tell myself, don’t worry!!! It’s not worth it and it will all get easier with time!
Work hard, but find time to relax. Working hard is important and worthwhile, but I also think that’s important to find time to relax. Six months ago, I didn’t even know the definition of self-care. Before starting my internship, I was working four jobs and going to school full time. It was worthwhile, but I wish I had spent a little more quality time with my friends before leaving school and given myself time to relax. However, I’m glad that I learned this lesson now; I’m working on balance in my life, working hard but still making time for self-care.
What are some things that you would tell your younger self?
Have a great weekend!
Sammy Springer
by Sammy | Jan 6, 2017 | Intern's Corner
Happy New Year!
2016 went by so fast, but I’m looking forward to 2017 because it will be filled with new experiences, love, laughter, and new friends. I only have a few more weeks left of my internship (seven to be specific) and knowing this has allowed me to reflect on how I want to spend the rest of the year. These reflections have helped me develop some New Year resolutions that I believe are achievable and important in my growth as an individual.
Lots of new experiences are headed my way in 2017. I will finally graduate college, become certified, start a new job, and move to a new state. Since I’m not always comfortable with change and will do anything to avoid it, but one of my resolutions will be to embrace new experiences and do something challenging every day. It’s a pretty broad resolution; I will challenge myself to continue seeking out good and appropriate challenges that make me uncomfortable each day; my internship has allowed me to do this, but I want to continue doing things that make me slightly uncomfortable. Growth is uncomfortable, but it makes me a better person, therapist, and friend.
Additionally, there are too many days where I wake up with a negative attitude and outlook towards life. One of my New Year resolutions will be to think more positively. We all know that thinking positive thoughts can help change attitude and mood, but it doesn’t always come easily. That being said, I will be spending more time reflecting and writing down at least five positive aspects about each day to help encourage me to focus on the positives rather than the negatives. Each day is a gift, even if it’s been terrible, and I want to fully appreciate each moment.
I believe that these two resolutions are pretty big, but they are definitely achievable. I plan on making new resolutions throughout the year once I practice these first two!
Thanks for reading my resolutions! I would love to hear about yours!!
Sammy Springer
by Sammy | Dec 24, 2016 | Intern's Corner
Happy Holidays everyone!
I hope that everyone is at home spending quality time with their family. I’m so thankful that I was able to make it home for the holidays. Like I’ve previously mentioned, this season is my favorite time of the year because everything is just so magical. Also, it’s currently snowing, which makes everything seem a little brighter and gets anyone in the mood for holiday cheer.
During the holidays, many students, interns, and professionals practicing music therapy may have to explain music therapy several times to family members and friends. Thankfully, my family is extremely educated about music therapy because they have done research themselves and they were the ones who introduced me to music therapy in the first place; when they don’t understand something, they typically ask me about it, but I never have to give the elevator speech during the holidays. I know that many other students or interns may have to give several elevator speeches regarding music therapy, but I view this as a great way to practice advocating for our field.
Even though it may feel frustrating at times for some people, it’s so important. Telling people, including family, about music therapy can spark questions and even encourage them to look up research. If that happens, then there are more people to advocate for music therapy and we all know the benefits of advocation. I know that when people ask them what I’m studying in school/doing now, my sister, mother, and father all tell them about music therapy in an educated and understandable way.
I don’t have to explain music therapy to any family members anymore, but I still like to think of the holidays as a great time for music therapy advocation while spreading holiday cheer. That being said, my goal for 2017 is to always advocate and never feel frustrated about explaining music therapy to people multiple times. Music therapy is such a wonderful field and I know that I want to share the greatness with everyone else.
I hope everyone has a great weekend and a fantastic New Years!
Sammy Springer
by Sammy | Dec 16, 2016 | Intern's Corner
Time management. It’s something that is so important, yet so difficult to practice and be good at on a daily basis. I’ve mentioned several times in previous week’s that an important part of self-care is being able to leave work at home and time management is a HUGE part of that. I’ve been working really hard at being great at managing my time so that I can have some of that self-care time every evening and weekend. Not only is managing time important for self-care reasons, it’s just generally a good concept to practice, especially as a future music therapist who is working on a schedule with limited documentation and planning time. I would love to share what I’ve learned so far about what works best for managing my time; I would also love to hear from you about some of your tips and tricks that will help me in my future career
I keep a detailed planner with all of my sessions and lessons outlined in a clear and colored coded way. I use google calendar, which has been a giant lifesaver during my internship. I print out a copy of my schedule every week, especially since it can change frequently and put it into my clinical binder (where I take data, etc). I also have a paper planner too (in my opinion, you can never have too many planners!). Both schedules are color coded to differentiate between sessions, lessons, hospital time, and even my own personal life including my job. Looking at my schedule immediately reduces any anxiety I have about my day.
I make a weekly to-do list of everything that I want to accomplish that week and then I divide up those tasks for each day. Doing this makes everything more manageable. Someone once told me in college that it’s unrealistic to accomplish more than six tasks per day on top of every day life. That being said, I always make sure that my to-do list only contains six tasks and I only add more tasks to my to-do list if the tasks already on it are small and don’t take too much time.
I keep a log of every activity that I do in order to make sure I’m on track and managing my time well. For a music therapy internship, it’s required that you keep a detailed log of daily assignment work and clinical hours. Although I have to do this, I’ve found that it helps to determine how I’m spending my time, evaluate, and then change it accordingly. I can see how long it takes to me to complete documentation or an assignment; if it’s taking too long to complete something, I can determine the reason and then work on being even more efficient.
All of these activities help me get through my day. As I transition into a professional music therapist, my schedule will become even busier, but now I feel like I have the right tools to make sure I’m organized and practicing good time management.
Thanks for reading!
Sammy Springer
ening and weekend. Not only is managing time important for self-care reasons, it’s just generally a good concept to practice, especially as a future music therapist who is working on a schedule with limited documentation and planning time. I would love to share what I’ve learned so far about what works best for managing my time; I would also love to hear from you about some of your tips and tricks that will help me in my future career