So I talked with another counselor today

It's been a long journey, and I haven't even begun yet.

I've pretty much known what I want to do since I was in middle school.
Well, I've always known I want to be a stay at home mom, but everyone needs a backup plan.
My back up plan has been unfolding for a while. In middle school, I decided I wanted to be a psychologist. I love learning about social trends and cognitive patterns and using that information to better understand myself and to more effectively love my friends.
By my Freshman year of High School, I knew I needed to work with children. I thought about working with LDS social services. Later, I took Child Development. I interned at several elementary schools, preschools, and daycares. I disagreed with some of the disciplinary choices made by the daycare providers. I realized I would never be satisfied being a child psychologist if I couldn't gaurentee that I could alter their home environment.
I decided I wanted to work as an advocate for children with learning disabilities. As an advocate, I would be working with parents who wanted to take action and to do as much as they could for their child. As an advocate, I could make a tangible difference.
To become a legal advocate involves lots and lots of school. Law school. The more education I sought, the less accessible I would become to the parents who needed me most. I would most likely be working with affluent parents against the already floundering school districts. I most certainly wasn't aiming for that. However, I could choose to be a public interest lawyer. I could represent the school districts in a plea to the state. I could write for grants. I could fight for better programs, more individualized teaching styles, even throw in some fights to keep the arts in schools.
I could make such a difference.