My life is about to change. I’m not trying to be dramatic; I just know that, by moving, my life will change. Why am I moving? Well, you see my career has three steps. Not only do I have to graduate university with a Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics (check), but I also have to do an internship, and take a licensure exam. I am on that second step.
Students apply to internships during their senior year at university. We can apply to as many as we want but there are fees which encourages people to apply to around five to seven on average. I applied to seven. Ten locations total. My top three were close to Dallas, my hometown. My fourth was my only option outside of Texas. As you may have guessed from the title, that fourth option is the one I was accepted into. I will be interning with the Department of Health in Puerto Rico for the next year.
People ask me if I am excited. I’m not sure. Maybe there’s some excitement in me somewhere. I don’t really feel too much about it. I’m just letting life happen. I was in hard denial when I got the news. (That interview was the worst I’ve ever had!) It seemed like a cruel joke. But I went to the orientation several weeks ago (a week before my finals, I might add!) and I know this is real. I will be moving the first week of July and, expect for Holiday Break in the winter, I won’t be back in Dallas until July 2019.
That’s crazy! I am going to a place I’ve been to once. Seriously, when the director was interviewing me and asked “why Puerto Rico?” I responded “I hear the weather is nice”. *FACEPALM* Sure, the temperature is about 80 degrees Fahrenheit year round, but they had a major hurricane last year for crying out loud! Did I mention that was my worse interview EVER? I am going to live in a foreign place for a year running around the island to make it to my rotations.
It’s similar to a doctor’s residency in that us interns go to different professionals in our field and observe their work. If the dietitian we are working under deems us competent, we also get to do some of their work. The three main rotation areas are Community, Clinical, and Food Service. However, as long as the internship program includes the required number of hours in the three fields they are free to include other areas. Some do eating disorders, geriatrics, and others. I think mine does media.
We are also assigned presentations, projects, and assignments to complete. This year there are ten of us. Three are Puerto Rican and the rest of us are from the United States. I have not packed, bought a plane ticket, or even begun to buy hurricane prep supplies. …This should be fun.
P.S. The photo above is the same as on my My Life Now page because it is of the view from a train station in Puerto Rico. Sneaky of me, right? 😀
My Dragonfly Life 