[flickr id=”7981654637″ thumbnail=”large_square” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”none”]Wow!  Here it is, my final post as the Marginalia Dance/Movement Therapy student ambassador.  I cannot believe how quickly this last year has gone by or how much I feel I have changed as a student since beginning this program last August.  In the second post I wrote, I talked about how I had a lot to learn after completing the summer intensive that all first year students must complete prior to their first semester (by the way, welcome first year students).  I really did have a lot to learn, and I still feel like I am learning more and more with each day and each class.  However, I feel that being the ambassador has helped me so much to have the opportunity to reflect on what I have learned.  It has also helped me deepen my understanding of the field by integrating my learning into a weekly blog post.As I reflect on my past posts I have noticed that this position also pushed me to develop my creativity.  I remember the overwhelming fear that I had when I first started this position of, “what if I run out of things to talk about.”  However, as I have discussed in a past post, this program and this position have really helped me to become more creative as well observant.  Two skills, which I also feel, are so important in becoming a therapist.  I noticed things about the department and about the field and I also feel I began to notice things about myself I hadn’t been aware of before.  I began to recognize the importance of self-care, and in doing so discovered the topic for my master’s thesis:  Preventing burnout in graduate students.  I began to find my voice as a blogger and my voice as a therapist.

[flickr id=”7997714466″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”original” group=”” align=”none”]This ambassadorship has truly helped me to develop my ability to professionally describe many of the experiences that I have had as a student here.  Before starting this program, I remember the uncomfortable feeling I would get every time I was asked, “So what exactly is dance/movement therapy” and while I still feel that this is not always the easiest question to address, I feel as though I have become much more comfortable in articulating what it is.  My heart no longer races when I am asked this question, and though I feel that the answer maybe constantly evolving, I am more readily able to give an answer that makes sense to those who aren’t in the field.

So, as I complete this blog post, I would just like to thank all of you who have followed along with me on this journey.  Though it saddens me to say goodbye to the ambassadorship, I am very grateful to Graduate Admissions for having offered this opportunity, and will carry the skills I have gained from it in my work as a dance/movement therapist. Lastly, I say congratulations to Kaity, who will be taking over the ambassadorship next year.  I look forward to reading what she will have to write, and hope all you readers out there will follow her too!