The Building Blocks to Help Others

I remember three summers of intensive social work studies. Almost every evening, some of us would be harmonizing out on the grass in the quad. One friend had a guitar. After some shared songs, we’d head back indoors to study. 

I recall, too, the pleasure of being able to take a swim after classes and before pre-dinner studying. The lifeguard taught me how to dive, and I continue to be thankful for that lesson. I was the original can’t-go-headfirst-into-the-water gal. 

As a student, I appreciated that we were working toward a practical approach for helping people. We had largely left the theoretical emphasis behind in our college years. We were focusing on action, and I was very glad about that. I didn’t always agree with professors’ views, particularly the Freudian ones, but I could see that we were being armed with useful bases and directions. Suggestions of things. We were armed with things to build on.