It’s the middle of August 2015. I’m in my mid-50’s and I’m still on my ‘walkabout’, still learning and growing. Recently, I’d graduated from college and received an Associate of Science (A.S.) Degree in Mental Health Studies – Substance Abuse Counseling.
As I explore and venture deeper into this counseling field, I hope that this college degree and my academic accolades, such as making the Dean’s List three times, won’t be the very thing that will swell my head and, ironically, separate me from the very people whom I’d intended to help. I hope that I won’t become the administrator or the executive behind the fancy oak desk who had never step foot into a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen.
Some of my best conversations have been with “street people” and the homeless. And there’s no better feeling in this world when you’re able to break bread and get to know another human being at a soup kitchen. It would be an outright shame if my fancy college degree actually kept from those who are still finding their way and climbing.
Now that I’m equipped with this college degree, maybe it will open some doors that were once closed to me…and just maybe, I’ll find my way in and prop the door open for those afflicted with an addiction, those in need, and those breaking bread at the soup kitchen. – Randolph Randy Camp
More at http://www.goodreads.com/randolphcamp
DON’T LET OTHERS DEFINE YOU…YOU DEFINE YOURSELF!
DON’T GIVE UP! KEEP WRITING! If you’re a writer in your heart of hearts, then write ’til your fingers are numb. There have been times when I’d felt like throwing in the towel and giving up on my writing dreams, but even after stuffing all of my writing materials underneath my bed and deep into my closet, only two days later there I was digging it all back out again. Even after scanning through your pile of rejection letters, you must (and you will) find the inner strength to fight discouragement. Take your rejection letter and turn it over to use the backside as scrap paper and keep writing. If you’re a screenwriter, you must envision the audience watching your movie as you’re currently writing it. If you’re a novelist, you must envision your readers physically holding and reading your book as you are presently writing your first draft. – Randolph Randy Camp
Learn more at
http://www.goodreads.com/randolphcamp
