Hi Everyone! This week marks the halfway point through my internship. It’s crazy how fast time flies. I thought I would share a couple things I’ve learned over the last three months and my thoughts on these lessons.
Fear. I’ve learned over the last few years that for me personally, the hardest thing for me when trying something new, engaging in a new experience, or presenting in front of people is the fear and anticipation leading up to the event. This has definitely been apparent throughout my internship. Everything I have done is new and challenging. Learning so many songs, interacting with so many different clients and parents, doing a whole week only on piano. These things are scary, but necessary. Necessary in the fact that no matter how these experiences go, I learn from them. Sometimes what I learn is good. Sometimes I learn what not to do. But, what I have learned from every experience, is that the fear and anxiety that exists won’t ever fully go away and that it is better to work through it, work with it, instead of working against those feelings. One of my favorite sayings, which I am not sure where I heard the first time, is to “be afraid, then do it anyway.” Going along with fear, I’ve learned that if I have an idea, to go for it and try it. Not everything has to be perfect all the time. Some ideas during sessions and lessons will work. Some will not, and that’s ok, as long I dwell on what to do moving forward.
Efficiency. Music therapists are BUSY. Not just time wise. We are thinking about so many things during a session. We have to make sure our music is played correctly, maybe adjust it to fit a clients’ sensory needs, look out for the safety of a client. Then we also have to keep track of a clients’ progress, take data, make sure we are explaining things in a way the client understands and that they can engage with the music and the therapist. These are just a few. A big part of any job is time management, and that is no less true in the music therapy field. I have been thinking about how time management isn’t just knowing when to do a task, its also how you do it. There is a difference between just completing a task and completing it efficiently, with intent. For example, if I let myself, I could spend an hour on one single client note if I start thinking too hard and try to make it perfect, but it is also something that can easily take me 15 minutes. However, I know that there are more notes to do, more songs to learn, and more sessions to prepare for, not just documentation. It is not just about getting something done. It is important to look at the bigger picture sometimes and to think about efficiency, about making something short and sweet in order to give that time to something that needs more attention. Managing your time correctly is important, yes, but being smart about time also makes a huge difference.
These are ideas I am going to think more about during these last three months of my internship. It is crazy to know that I am over halfway done. They tell you it goes by fast, and they are so right! Until next time!
– Leah Young, MTI
