I am Lauren

I think it's true that you never know what you know until you have to train someone else.

I have been at my internship at MARR for nine months now. It's incredibly hard to believe that a) I have been there for that long and b) I am leaving in three months and c) I love working in addictions so much. I still have no idea what kind of job I will end up with in May, but maybe I will find a way to use all of my newfound knowledge.

Apparently there is a way I can go ahead and use that knowledge to benefit others. We have a new intern at MARR who is working in the family program with me and the other staff. I realized last Friday, during our weekly staff meeting, that I will be helping to train her. WHAAAAAAT. Wasn't it just, like, yesterday that I had no idea what a first step was? Or what spirituality means? Or what a white chip is? He-llo!

I guess in some ways I should have been expecting it. The counseling interns sort of rotate in and out depending on their school schedule and requirements. So we always have two interns- one is a veteran and the other is the new kid on the block. When I was hired in May Lauren was my MARR BFF and mentor and she left in December....and now it's February and Dionne is new on the scene. So by default that makes me...the new Lauren?!?!?

It's going to be kind of weird. Dionne's going to listen in on some of my phone calls on speaker so she can get an idea of what I'm saying to these families. She also complimented me on something I said in group the other day when I was trying to help a guy who has a hard time trusting women. I guess I left an impression. Suddenly I realized though the weight of what I'm about to embark on and the fact she will be watching and learning. Have I really learned enough to inflict my knowledge on an unsuspecting intern?? Wow- time has really flown by.

And so as I have had a sponsor, it is now time for me to be the sponsor. In AA they would say "and then you realize that you can use your experience to help others." All I have to do is the next right thing.