Cartwheeling Into the Wild Unknown

I begin this post with good news.

I got my dream internship.

Wait, I didn’t say that loud enough.

I got my dream internship!

I started my journey to find a decent internship despondent and forlorn that my original plan had failed. I bet all I had on the only internship that was a. local and b. not hospice, only to be let down in the end. It was back to the drawing board for me when my professor suggested a private practice in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It’s not in Michigan, she said, but it would be the perfect fit for me. And the more I researched the place, the more I realized she was right! It was almost exactly what I envisioned my own private practice would be like one day, with a diverse range of clientele with many different diagnoses and goals.

Still, it wouldn’t be easy uprooting my entire life. Hesitantly, I applied for the Indiana internship as well as a local hospice, the “safe” option, despite not being what I wanted to pursue in my career. After getting let down by the previous internship site, I figured I shouldn’t put all my eggs into one basket again. I got interviews with both — on the same day, no less — and then the waiting game began. I was beginning to wonder if either of the sites would accept me, or if I’d never get an internship and be doomed to be a pharmacy technician forever.

But then, within a day of each other, both sites got back to me — and this time, with good news! I’d been offered an internship by both the private practice and the hospice. Now I had a choice to make — do I do the hospice and stay in Metro Detroit, or do I take a risk and move to Indiana for six months?

I’ll admit it wasn’t an easy choice. I knew the internship director at the hospice — we’d worked together before. I know the area and all the people here. My wife and I would be able to hang onto our day jobs for extra support. And we wouldn’t have to offload most of our belongings and move into an extended-stay hotel or AirBnb. But something was pulling me toward the Indiana site, crazy as it seemed. It wasn’t the practical option, but perhaps it was a risk worth taking.

I accepted the Indiana internship.

So now we’re contemplating how to execute this move as smoothly as possible, looking into potential lodging and Uhauls and how the hell we’re going to get our medication through it all because God forbid I go through the internship process without my Adderall. It’s going to take hard work and sacrifice, but I’m willing to do everything I can to make this happen. I’ve never felt so strongly about anything. Maybe leaping into the great unknown is what I need to do in order to truly live out my passion and make a difference in people’s lives through music therapy. After all, no one’s ever changed the world by playing it safe.

I’m ready for whatever comes next, and I can’t wait to take you all along for the ride.