I am (Not) a Qualified Life "Specialist"

First of all, read the word "skilled." Now read it again. And again. Maybe write it down, type it, say it a few times to yourself. "Skilled, skilled, skilled, skilled." After typing "skilled" so many times while trying to find a valid, unused URL just a few moments ago, I began to question whether or not I had completely made it up. Luckily, it was in the dictionary, and its meaning fits right in with my blog topic. Now, on to my purpose.

My job revolves around teaching kids life skills, skills that will help them to succeed in school, at home, and in relationships. Research has shown (I quote not) that kids who develop self-esteem, good communication and social skills, and who learn how to be assertive will have a better chance at finding success in life and achieving their goals. Other topics that I teach about include decision-making, dealing with stress, various substances, advertising, nutrition, leadership, and team-building. Different age groups delve into different sub-topics, if you will, like refusal skills, peer pressure, I-messages, being a good friend, violence, and so on. It takes a special person to be able to call herself a "specialist" in life skills. Well, enter yours truly.

Not really. I'm no more qualified to teach a kid that self-esteem is self-attainable than my cat is to teach me how to curl my hair.

Exactly.

So here are my thoughts: I'm 24 years old. I've been depressed; I've had low self-esteem, and I still struggle with it; I've made poor decisions; I SOMETIMES, rarely, miscommunicate; AND I had 5 doughnuts today...Five! And 2 pigs-in-the-blankets. And 2 cookies. And a brownie. And maybe a Dr. Pepper to stay awake. I've never received training in "life skills." And I know most of you reading this can say the same, because your lives are wrought with arguments, arrogance, bad influences, blame games, broken relationships, complaints, depression, grief, insecurities, jealousies, misinterpreted meanings, mistakes, passiveness, pride, stress, sweet tooths, violence, and the list could go on and on, like mine (yes, in alphabetical order). I firmly believe that children will benefit from my teaching if I teach it well. But here inlies the problem: how can I, in good faith, provide character education to developing minds if I've never received it myself? So, I'm putting on their shoes, and I hope you will too. That's why I'm writing this--not because I'm a "specialist," but because I struggle, too. This may get personal, uncomfortable, and risky.

But those are three of my favorite words.