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Well folks, this is it.  This is my final blog post as your diligent and hard-working Graduate Student Ambassador for Columbia’s Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling MA program. I almost feel tongue-tied, like I don’t know what my farewell words should be.  My afternoon has been spent thinking about this post, as well as surfing through my older posts (it’s not as narcissistic as it sounds) to serve as a reflective process about where I’ve been, what I’ve talked about, what my point of view is as a graduate student, and about this crazy thing called dance/movement therapy.

Much as I was at the beginning of the program, I was absolutely clueless about blogging when I received the position as the Graduate Student Ambassador.  I mean, I knew what blogging was, but I have to admit, I never really read blogs or knew how to write for one.  My lack of knowledge may or may not be apparent in my first few blog posts.  Rummaging through my posts though, I began to see a shift in the way I approached the blog. I began to expand my posts from covering general events to thinking conceptually about dance/movement therapy as a practice.  To be honest, I think writing for Marginalia really helped me figure out what dance/movement therapy was and who I was as an emerging dance/movement therapist.

It helped me tease apart what dance/movement therapy was versus therapeutic dance.  I began to wonder about how I, as an individual, approached therapy and how this may, in fact, look different than other approaches.  I dissected life as a graduate student by delving into my personal life and how I view self-care.  I went out on a limb and discussed what it means for dance/movement therapists to have a presence on the web, somewhat scrutinizing the ADTA and their drab website.

Shameless plugging, maybe.  Self-refelction, absolutely.

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Writing for this blog has not only helped me find my voice as both a dance/movement therapist and a blogger, but it has also led to future blogging opportunities.  I have been contacted by an ADTA board member who wants to begin a conversation with me about their website and overall dance/movement therapy web presence.  I may also guest blog for the program’s Community Outreach blog.

I’ve even taken the initiative to create a personal blog as a way to continue to talk about all things dance/movement therapy.  Although my Marginalia days are over, my blogging days are not.  So join me at my personal blog, okay?

It’s been a wild journey blogging on behalf of the Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling MA program.  Thanks to the Graduate Admissions & Services Office for giving me the opportunity (aw) and to those who read my posts (sometimes I wasn’t sure if anyone did).  Although I’m sad to go and thankful for the guidance/help from the Graduate Admissions & Services Office, I’m ready to venture off into the blogging world on my own.  More importantly, there will be a new graduate student, Chelsie Batko, blogging about her dance/movement therapy and her graduate student experience at Columbia College Chicago.  I’m excited to see what she’ll have to say.  So I hope you, reader, will keep reading — I know I will.