department departure

Today I took my first class at PSU outside of the social work department. This quarter, I'm taking a class with the counseling department. It's odd because everyone in my class has been going through this full school year together so they are all quite familiar with each other (As a side note, I am disturbingly reminded of the cast of the 80s TV show 'Head of the Class' by this group of students. I;m not sure why.) When the professor walked in, he immediately identified me because I was the outsider. After he reviewed the syllabus, I began to realize I was outside of my element and my comfort zone.

When he agreed to let me take the Psychosocial Aspects of Disability, the professor added that I may find it difficult because I didn't take the Bio/Medical Aspects of Disability even though it's not technically a prerequisite. However, I felt that I would be fine with the other classes I've had through work and with the social work classes. During the first break though, I went to the computer to look for other social work classes I could take instead but I didn't find any that I would like.

After returning from break, we dove into the actual teaching and material that we were going to look at and I realized that I got this. I know this stuff. I definitely think that I will learn a lot but these concepts are not foreign to me. Plus we can write about any psychosocial aspects of any type of disability for our final paper so I can focus in on my area of interest, adults with DD. This is going to work out after all! Plus, a few of the students were eager to meet someone new and one guy offered me tips to understanding what the professor was referencing. I think I made the right choice in sticking with the class.