Back in Boston

I returned to Boston last night after about two weeks at home in PA. While it was nice to be home, it was a reminder that I am not a suburbia type of girl. That said, I need to find a way for me to stay in Boston, which means a job. Finding a job is rather daunting, especially in these times and my lack of paid job experience. I have been volunteering and in school for the past five years.

Perhaps the first thing I should do is update my resume to include my new membership into the Child Life Council. I also need to pick up my degree from Simmons College. I feel rather lame for still not having my hard earned diploma after graduating over a year ago. I also need a copy of my unofficial transcript so I can look up my GPA and start looking at Child Life practicums/internships.

I also need to find an apartment because alas, my current made-for-me-studio was only a one time deal since it is too expensive for me to keep for another 12 months. My lease ends 8/31 and I will truly miss my first apartment because it is in the same area I lived in when I was at Simmons.

Yesterday I finished Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult. The ending was not as depressing as I thought it would be. I could have finished the book last week, but I thought I knew the ending based on her previous books and I did not want to finish it for fear the ending would depress and enrage me. I was pleasantly surprised and proud of the author for not ending it in the way she had My Sister's Keeper or in the way I thought. This book does not count toward the 10 I aim to read this summer since I started it long before summer began. This book was however the first of many I will read on my Kindle.

This afternoon I looked through The CLC Directory of Child Life Programs and found 8 Child Life practicums from Boston to DC.  The hospitals offering practicums are Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital (CT), Children's National Medical Center (DC), Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children (DE), Shriners Burn Hospital Boston (MA), Joslin Clinic (MA), Floating Hospital for Children (MA), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (PA) and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children (PA).  


Internships are more common than practicums because the hours count towards certification, but my plan is to    complete a practicum, then I will have a stronger resume and be more well rounded when I apply to internships the following "semester".  Unfortunately, I have to email most of the institutions because they don't provide enough if any information on their website.  


I also need to look at jobs at the same time, because I need to have a purpose if I am going to stay in Boston.    The deadline for the winter "semester" is September 5th so I need a job so I have something to do if I don't get into a practicum.