From our Music Therapy Intern…
Week two has come and gone in the blink of an eye! The days have been long and full of new and exciting information, but the week passed like an absolute whirlwind. Each day this week my spongy brain tried to sop up as much information as it could, but by Friday, it’s completely saturated and needs a good squeeze. Thank goodness for the weekends, where I can rest my mind fully and process everything I’ve seen and heard throughout the week!
Seeing as last week was my very first week here, I didn’t mind the long commute from Kalamazoo to Jackson. I didn’t mind the couple of longer work days in the week. I didn’t mind all the new information. I was excited to learn! I was eager to know EVERYTHING! But what I didn’t realize was that I was not retaining much of that fresh information because I was not doing my part to rest throughout the week.
My lack of intentional rest last week was an oversight on my part. I did not take into account that I’ve never done anything like this before, and that I desire to learn and grow more than ever in this particular season of my life. I didn’t give my poor sponge brain any grace or recovery time, and so a lot of water knowledge leaked out over the course of the first week. If I continue to count on the weekends as my “recovery,” I will not give my brain time to chew on all the data it collected each day, and by Friday, I will be on overload (like today!).
This week, I have learned the importance of daily self-care. Whether that’s journaling, reading a book, talking to my husband, playing a card game with my sister, or watching a TV show, I need to take time each day to just be. I need to actively rest, and intentionally let my mind turn off for some time. This will give me a chance to subconsciously sift through the day’s nuggets and store them away as useful and gained knowledge. I have never done anything like this internship before, so I need to be aware that my brain is actually expanding and rerouting neurons and creating new connections like it never has before.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn so much from five wonderful women in only ten completed internship days so far! I cannot even imagine how much I will learn over the next six months!
Buckle up, sponge brain!
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Hannah Avery is the newest face around Harmony Garden Music Therapy Services. This fall, she’s taking on the role of our first Music Therapy Intern. Stay tuned for her blog posts as she goes (and grows) through her music therapy internship.
