Do You Believe In Luck?

I don't. I don't think things happen by "accident" I don't think people just "fall" into our lives and I don't think situations just "fall" into our laps. I had one of those moments the other night. You can think it was lucky or you can think it was divine intervention. I prefer to believe the later.

As my friends already know, I have been working on my bachelors degree. I am in a program that allows you to create the degree you want and study the things you want. It sounds kind of hippieish don't you think? Well believe me, it isn't. The sheer volume of work that we have to pump out more than makes up for the lack of class time. The program is a tough concept for most people to understand. In September I will be starting my fourth and final semester, so basically I've been in the program for two years and I still have people ask me almost daily "so when do you go to class?" or "do you have class tonight?". I've just learned to say yes or no and leave it at that. Unfortunately for the most part we have become a society that moves to fast and listens very little. It's quite sad actually.

Anyway, what I was saying before I rudely interrupted myself about school is that I although I am getting my degree in Psychology I have spent a ton of time studying Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other veteran's issues. I was all set to start graduate school in the Fall and begin working on my LMHC (Lic. Mental Health Counselor) degree. The thing that bothered me the most about this was that it was going to be a minimum of 3 years before I was able to really get in the field and work with the men and women I want to work in. Then it happened.....

Last Wednesday night (when I should have been doing school work) I happened across the final meeting of the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors. This was a non-partisan commission put together specifically to make recommendations on revamping the current care system for veterans. Anyone who reads the newspaper knows how bad the system is right now. Care is at an all time low and if you have done any research on this subject you know that this actually happens during and after any war we've been involved in. The biggest difference with Iraq and Afghanistan is that more people are surviving their wounds. Sounds like a good thing right? Well it is until they get home and can't get treatment or worse tell them that their mood swings that are being caused by a Traumatic Brain Injury are actually part of a personality disorder that they had before they joined the service. So in other words - bye bye no benefits for you.

As I was watching this commission meeting they started to go over their recommendations. The very first one that they talked about was the creation of a position called "Recovery Coordinator". This caught my attention immediately - they went on to talk about this position. This person would be the first point of contact for vets who were wounded physically or mentally and needed care. They would be the person to cut through the bullshit and red tape and get the services to the right people. They would work directly with the vets and make sure that the Dept. of Defense and the VA lived up to their promises. It was like a lightening bolt had come down in front of the TV and I said to myself "THAT'S IT!". That's what I want to do. So now my graduate degree plans have changed. I met with my professor and we went over some ideas but I'm looking at maybe public heath - public policy or health advocacy. I've actually emailed the commission to see if they can tell me what kind of an education they imagine this position to have. We'll see if they email me back. One of the men on the commission is a wounded vet who is currently attending Harvard Business school so I might be able to find him...we'll see.

So to go back to my original thought. Do I think it was lucky that I found that meeting on C-Span? Not at all - I was meant to find it - so it could lead me in the right direction.