GCRJ = Georgia Council for Restorative Justice
This is my GRA project, and to be honest, I hadn’t ever heard of Restorative Justice before meeting GCRJ’s director. But I quickly read up on it, and while I have a LOT more reading to do, I know for starters that I’m intrigued. I really like the concept, at least from my limited understanding. Everyone knows our legal system (and school system, and welfare, and health care, and and and…) needs some serious reform, and this seems to be like a very good step in the right direction. At least, in my kind of direction, which is putting a person’s best interests for healing and growth first, and working in a supportive manner to facilitate dialogue that leads to action that leads to positive change for everyone involved.
So yesterday Mark brings home a big packet from Georgia State University. He thought it was junk mail. Good thing he decided to hand it over to me first instead of tossing it immediately, because it was my acceptance letter to the Master’s in Social Work (MSW) program! Woohoo!
I’ll be starting in August and going full time. Hopefully I can find some awesome part time jobs to make up some of the income loss, but the main focus for the next two years is going to be grad school. Because I want to save the world by vastly improving social service delivery and community sustainability. And that takes some serious focus and devotion. I’m excited, though! It took me a while to figure out what grad school program was the right fit for me. I looked into Tibetan Studies, International Relations, Sociology, Public Health…and finally I realized that Social Work, despite the stigma and stereotypes, was the most versatile, flexible, and ultimately, the best program for what I want to do in the world.
I can’t wait to go back to school! And knowing that this is directly benefiting my career makes it even more worthwhile. No more sitting through long, boring geometry classes wondering why I had to be there since I wasn’t going to ever use geometry. This is a hands-on program that will give me actual skills I need to make the world a better place.
– Leah
