A journey
“Whatever dominates your days will determine your life.”
~ Jim Shewman
Why I am pursing the path of a counselor? Even in writing that I feel like I am in elementary school talking about what I want to be when I grow up. At 40 with four kids and half of a lifetime behind me its funny to be dreaming of a career, but here I am. I grew up with a somewhat unusual childhood. We moved every two to four years for no apparent reason other than the whim of my parents. The funny thing was that we often moved back to the same area’s or to similar ones. None the less, I still got to know the feeling of being the new kid, of feeling left out or even worse to be singled out. We lived in the bush of Alaska for my childhood and as many of you know who have experienced village life, it has its challenges. We lived north of Fairbanks where it gets pretty cold and very dark in the winter. I saw people hole up and some move south. We had lots of people who passed through, often lonely and seeking their future. Our family friends were trappers, pipeline workers, teachers, wanderers and everything in-between. I had friends from a plethora of cultural, social and emotional backgrounds. I heard their stories. I loved hearing their stories. I loved knowing where they had been, where they were and where they wanted to go. It was always exciting to learn about the things they had overcome, the things they were struggling through and the journeys they were on.
Because of these experiences, I love a good story. I like to listen and I like an adventure. Listening to the various people in my life tell their stories has given me a love of listening. Seeing how life can be unkind has given me compassion. And seeing healing in my own life and others has given me hope.
I started this journey almost 20 years ago when I started my undergrad at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I thought I would teach English, because I loved classic stories, but while in school I realized that I loved watching stories unfold in real life even more. I applied and was accepted to two different universities at two different times. A handsome man swept me off to the Yukon Territory the first time and at the second attempt a little blue eyed baby captured all my attention. My four little ones are older now and when I asked them if I should go back to school they said, “Yes! ” I feel it is a calling, my own little journey. To sit with others and listen. To be an honored member in others journeys. -Candace
“Listen to your life.
See it for the fathomless mystery that it is.
In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness:
touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it.
Because in the last analysis all moments are key moments and life itself is grace.”
~ Frederick Buechner
