But I had to make a difficult decision that led me on another path. Part of responsible adulthood is making momentary sacrifices for long term gains. We get roommates, settle for jobs we hate and sometimes even work hours we don’t like in order to accomplish the feat of paying our monthly bills. I’ve been in hundreds of job interviews and the one question that annoys me is when I’m asked why I want the position. While I always give a good answer, I sometimes just want to tell the interviewer simply that I don’t want to be homeless and that’s what drew me to the job posting. But my life as a travel social worker took on an adventure of its own as I went around the country living (literally) out of two suitcases. It was a journey filled with challenges, growth, and countless rewarding moments. From bustling hospital departments to serene outpatient therapy centers, to rehabilitation centers, each assignment left an indelible mark.
The Lessons Learned
After working in hospitals for years, I enjoyed the change of pace that came with Acute Rehab. There were rarely any emergencies and the vast majority of discharges were planned. I had the chance to meet so many community partners and for the first time in my life I lived close to a beach. It was lovely. I would go sit by the waves after a long day of work or head there on a busy Saturday morning to get some fresh air before it got busy. It was a lovely small town and everyone was welcoming. There were cool local attractions to explore and Hearst Castle was just a leisurely drive away. The only reason why I decided to leave was that I didn’t want my first assignment to be my only assignment.
My journey as a travel social worker also led me into the wonderful world of outpatient psychotherapy as well as case management. But that’s another story for another day. Of course, this journey wasn’t without its challenges. The constant upheaval of moving from one assignment to the next, the emotional toll of hearing tough things on a constant basis, and the lack of predictability made it challenging. Yet, amidst the challenges, there have been countless triumphs — the smile of a patient as they took their first steps towards recovery, the gratitude of a young adult who finally found their voice,
Though travel social work is definitely not for the weak, the rewards have far outweighed the struggles. In the midst of working in different settings and reading contracts, I’ve picked up an extra set of skills that have served me well through the years. So, if you want an adventure, try (national) travel social work.
Have you ever thought about pursuing a profession that merges your desire to assist others with your fondness for traveling? Envision the chance to create a difference in corners of the globe while indulging in exciting escapades at the same time. This is the path that awaits you as a travel worker.
Let me set the scene for you. Picture yourself standing on a beach feeling the touch of crystal clear waves on your toes. Inhale the salty ocean breeze. Absorb the stunning vista before you. This isn’t a getaway; it’s part of your job. As a travel worker you have an opportunity to discover new places and immerse yourself in diverse cultures all while positively impacting peoples lives. Imagine waking up each day with a sense of purpose aware that today you hold the ability to transform someones life for the better. Whether its aiding underserved communities in accessing resources or offering assistance and direction to individuals your role as a travel social worker will leave a lasting imprint on those who require help.
But what exactly is international travel social work? International travel social work is an area of work that involves delivering services and assistance to individuals and communities in various locations. For the purposes of this article, I’ll call it travel social work. Travel social workers often take on roles in settings, like hospitals, schools or nonprofit organizations. Firstly you get to embark on thrilling adventures and immerse yourself in cultures. Moreover you can make a difference in the lives of communities and enhance your professional skills and expertise. The flexible nature of travel social work also allows you to maintain a work life balance.
Travel social work presents chances, for personal and professional development. Each task brings its set of challenges allowing you to enhance your skills gain an understanding of global issues and evolve into a more versatile and empathetic social worker with the expertise to address intricate societal concerns. If you are prepared to pursue a fulfilling career that enables you to explore the world make an impact, you should contemplate a career as a travel social worker. Are you excited about this once in a lifetime adventure?
The Exciting Journey Ahead Starting a career as a travel social worker unveils an array of exhilarating experiences and unforgettable escapades. Each assignment transforms into an opportunity for a journey. As a travel social worker you can venture into parts of the world while leaving a positive mark on peoples lives. Whether it involves working with communities, aiding refugees, or supporting groups, each assignment presents distinct challenges and gratifications.
“Engaging in social work while traveling offers a chance to break out of your comfort zone and test your limits. I expanded my perspectives in ways I never imagined.”. Sarah, Social Worker
Picture yourself trekking through forests helping families, in villages or offering assistance to individuals in bustling urban areas. An extraordinary adventure awaits as you navigate surroundings interact with communities and gain firsthand understanding of global issues impacting societies. With each place you visit you’ll have the chance to savor dishes explore historic landmarks and take part in unique cultural practices. Whether it’s witnessing a sunset on a shore or exploring temples the memories forged as a social worker on the move will endure forever.
Creating a Positive Influence Within the realm of travel social work, the opportunity to genuinely impact peoples lives exists. Engaging with populations and assisting those in need brings fulfillment. It is through our expertise and abilities that we can bring about changes in communities. As a travel social worker you hold the privilege of immersing yourself in various environments and connecting with individuals from all walks of life. Whether it involves supporting communities or offering guidance, your efforts hold the potential to spark positive transformations.
“The best way to discover yourself is by dedicating yourself to serving others.”. Mahatma Gandhi
Each day presents an opportunity for you to create an impact. Whether it entails aiding families in crisis, empowering individuals to conquer obstacles, or assisting communities in recovering from calamities, your commitment and skills have the power to change lives for the better. Through your work you will witness firsthand the resilience and fortitude of individuals grappling with challenges. Your steadfast support and direction can serve as a catalyst, for their growth and empowerment. By supporting with resources you can make an impact on individuals and communities and help them thrive.
Engaging in travel social work enables you to connect with people from cultures, backgrounds and life experiences. By bridging gaps and promoting understanding you contribute to building a compassionate society.
Personal Development As a travel social worker you have the opportunity to explore social work environments fostering significant personal growth and development. Each assignment brings forth challenges exposing you to populations and cultures that enhance your skills and broaden your professional expertise. Through working in various locations, you can gain insights into social issues and systems while strengthening your knowledge in areas like child welfare, mental health advocacy. Exposure to perspectives can enrich your understanding. Empower you to tackle complex societal challenges effectively.
Moreover travel social work provides opportunities for learning and professional advancement. Attending conferences, workshops or trainings across regions allows you to acquire knowledge while refining your skills. Travel social work has not only helped me grow personally, but has also increased my expertise as a social worker.
You can experience many benefits to making this decision. These include expanding your knowledge across social work environments, gaining an understanding of diverse populations and cultures, improving your skills in addressing complex social issues and accessing ongoing education. When comparing the advantages and disadvantages of growth in travel social work there are pros to consider. These include exposure to social work settings leading to enhanced skills and expertise, a knowledge base, and better comprehension of different societal challenges. On the other hand there are cons such as adjusting to environments, and spending time getting acquainted with local resources and systems.
Cultural competence development is another benefit that comes with Travel Social Work. This includes an improved ability to work with populations, understanding of cultural factors affecting individuals. However challenges may arise in adapting to norms or overcoming language barriers. Accessing continuing education is crucial for travel workers as it provides opportunities to attend conferences, workshops, trainings in locations while staying updated on cutting edge research and best practices. Yet this may require an investment in development along with time commitment for attending trainings.
The flexibility offered by being a travel social worker allows you to tailor your career according to your preferences. By selecting assignments in locations and settings aligned with your interests and goals you can enjoy the desired flexibility, in your profession.Having this level of independence enables you to establish a balance, between your work and personal life.
Picture yourself waking up in a city interacting with communities immersing yourself in new cultures and making a meaningful contribution. Alternatively you might prefer the serenity of working in an area surrounded by nature and close communities. Travel social work empowers you to choose assignments that align with your professional goals. Aside from selecting the location and environment travel social work also includes intervals between assignments. These breaks offer opportunities to explore destinations engage in self reflection or simply rejuvenate before embarking on your journey. It’s a time to pursue your love for travel and uncover horizons.
The adaptability of travel social work allows you to shape a career that suits your lifestyle and preferences. Whether you crave the excitement of life the tranquility of landscapes or the chance to discover various places this profession provides the versatility you seek. Embrace the liberty and boundless opportunities that accompany being a travel social worker. Revel in the satisfaction of making a difference while maintaining a work life equilibrium tailored to suit your needs.
Establishing an International Network Being a social worker who specializes in overseas work, you’ll encounter an advantage in creating a varied and extensive international network. As you work in locations you’ll have the opportunity to connect with peers and professionals, from cultural backgrounds. These connections can greatly influence your career and lead to future prospects. Through teamwork with professionals in social work environments you’ll gain perspectives and insights that can enhance your expertise. Sharing stories, obstacles and achievements with travel workers can create a support system and a feeling of unity that transcends boundaries.
Forming a network not broadens your professional relationships but also exposes you to different methods and approaches in social work. By learning from practitioners around the globe you’ll expand your knowledge of subtleties and diverse ways of addressing challenges. Developing a network as a travel social worker provides access to extensive knowledge, resources and experiences. It nurtures collaboration promotes learning and enhances sensitivity.
In Summary To sum up, embarking on a career path in travel social work offers advantages worth considering. Becoming a travel worker allows you to embark on adventures immersing yourself in diverse cultures and gaining new perspectives. In addition, to making an impact on peoples lives and communities you’ll see firsthand the effects of your efforts. This career path also offers many opportunities for professional development. As a travel social worker you have the freedom to select assignments that match your interests and aspirations enabling you to maintain a fulfilling work life balance. The range of experiences and exposure to social work environments will enrich your skills. Broaden your outlook. By embracing travel social work you can establish connections with professionals who share your passion for creating change on a global scale.
Like so many, I’ve been astonished at how fast this year is flying by. It’s already May and we are almost to the halfway point of this year. So yeah. There’s that. One thing I’ve been slacking on this year has been reading and I want to change that. There are so many books that I’ve been buying and hoping that I’ll get to but in realizing that it’s time to stop buying and start to catch up on this ever evolving and growing list of interesting books. They say that readers are leaders and I for one know that I’m more verbose and self aware if I’m reading about the experiences and perspectives of others. It’s been a valuable resource to my professional identity and growth. Which means that I absolutely have to be more consistent with it. Ideally, I’d like to have a good balance of reading for fun and reading for information. But I think I’ll have to start off with the reading for information. Moving forward I plan to start taking books on flights with me. It’s a dedicated space to learn and I’ll be less distracted with phone notifications. Considering the fact that I have a few cross country flights scheduled, I think it’ll be an easy way to start to catch up on reading. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I used to be a serial vacation goer. Every few weeks I would make it a point to go somewhere or anywhere new. A lot of money was spent in those endeavors. I’m not independently wealthy but I always saw the value in getting away and having a change of scenery for a bit. This past week was a flashback of my previous life when I had the opportunity to get away for a bit. The get away part was further compounded by being locked out of my work email so it ended up being a forced break of sorts. But I wasn’t too upset—although I’m dreading the make up work that awaits me when I get back. Getting away makes you think about your life differently and I can honestly say that I don’t think vacations are bad things. I’m currently tasked with a new challenge of balancing a lot of different priorities in the new year and this reset of sorts has definitely been needed. When you’re so busy living, it’s easy to forget about the importance of making a life. For me, vacationing is a missing piece of the equation. You may wonder if you can afford it but sometimes you can’t afford not to go. The amount of creativity and ingenuity that emerges from a new environment is unparalleled. It’s also worth it to have something to look forward to. So in these last few brief moments before the chaos rears it’s ugly head again, I’m taking a moment to breathe in the peace and tranquility that comes from taking an intentional break and I’m setting the intention of doing this again sometime mid-next year. Or maybe sooner.
As I’ve mentioned numerous times, travel has been a significant part of my life for the past 7 years or so. Due to circumstances, my travels have been limited lately but they’ve been more meaningful. However, the great thing is that there’s plenty of places to see and hopefully I’ll get an international trip on the books in the next six to eight months. Needless to say, Texas is like another country. I love the vibe, dislike the highways, and appreciate the weather. It was fun seeing new things and enjoying a comedy show.
It’s been crazy how fast the year has gone and like many, I’ve realized that it hasn’t gone completely according to plan. My international trips have once again been curtailed but I’ve seen more of the countryside and traveled to some of the local spots near me. I’ve confirmed I officially like sushi and I now low key regret spending 28 years being a vegetarian. However, it gave me a great foundation for healthy eating and I’m glad for that. This year I’ve also developed more discipline in taking care of myself and taking both fitness and business seriously. It’s been eye opening to discover new ways of thinking and to hear the perspectives of others. There’s so much going on in the world today that seems incredibly polarizing and I’ve seen how fragile human relationships can be when there is seemingly a conflict of values. Time flies when you’re having fun, but also when you’re just working a lot.
I enjoyed this trip immensely and while we had some rainy day, there were a few when the sun shone through. It’s good to take a break from routine and the Texas heat felt like home.
As I’ve expressed multiple times, traveling is one of my favorite things to do. Nowadays it doesn’t happen as often as it used to and it makes the times where I can get away much more previous. Hopefully, I’ll travel internationally again one day soon. But for now… A few San Antonio pictures.
Making a lifestyle change is hard and there can be so many barriers and challenges with remaining consistent. Last summer I was challenged to change my mindset and lose the weight I had been procrastinating on addressing. Everyone has different levels of comfort with their body image and their weight but I knew that it was time for things to change. While you can be happy, self accepting, have high self esteem and be overweight, I knew that it wasn’t working for me. I was tired of taking long airplane rides to other countries and being unable to comfortably fit into the seat while being ashamed to ask for a seat belt extender. It just wasn’t what I wanted. I was over my clothes not fitting right and only being able to wear certain select items in my closet because I had “outgrown” the majority of what I had available but didn’t want to spend more money to buy more clothes. I believe in radical self acceptance but I also believe in changing your lifestyle and being healthy if that’s a goal you have for yourself. It was a long, long road that still continues but I’ve made progress. I started with a personal trainer (aka my boyfriend), made the decision to no longer be vegetarian, I got off medication (after consulting with a doctor), started weight training, and changed my diet drastically. It wasn’t an overnight change and it didn’t happen as soon as I would have liked but I lost 45lbs and I’m still working towards my goal. Last week was the first time I could pick things from my closet to wear that I haven’t been able to fit in over 5 years. It was an amazing feeling and having a supportive partner has been great. I still have some progress to make but it’s nice to finally comfortably sit in an airplane seat without being black and blue from the armrest digging into my thigh. I’m determined to remain consistent and to continue to make progress. After all, it’s a marathon and not a sprint.
Typically I avoid traveling in the summer as it’s a time where most people are out and about and prices tend to be higher. However, I’m considering breaking my invisible rule to explore some National out of the way places that aren’t overrun with people. The first thing on my list is a beach. I’ve seen some great ones over the years and I’m looking forward to seeing some new ones this summer. We’ll see.
Alisha's Angle 