Professional Student

I have always been a firm believer in education. I don't think going into debt for the sake of education is a waste at all because knowledge is something you will never lose. Not to mention, the life experiences you gain from entering post-secondary learning institutions. Now, that was the long introduction for me to announce I am going back to school.
Surprised? Probably not-it seems I have spent more time in school than outside of it. I went to university for five and a half years and gained a BA Honours degree in Sociology and then attended an 18 month 2200 hour massage therapy program. I loved each one, but both left me wanting more. Each time I went to school, I learned a lot of things and my opinions were altered and shaped. I have found that with massage therapy, my opinions are not recognised as being very valuable and giving relaxation massages is not what I want to do for the rest of my life. There are people out there who are made for working in spas and I have all of the respect in the world for them-I am just not one of them.
There is a more therapeutic side to massage therapy as well, but it just starting to catch on. I also learned a lot from sociology that I cannot apply in massage therapy. I want to apply a new way of looking at rehabilitation and try to change the attitudes that make being permanently disabled a pain in the ass. I don't want to "fix" "broken" bodies, I want to help/strengthen/supplement any kind of body with respect to its individual expression; regardless if that person is a wheelchair user, blind or completely able-bodied. Assisting people with permanent and temporary disabilities needs to be addressed differently and I have decided to do it by going back to school for physiotherapy. This is a part of the big changes I alluded to in my previous post.
I obviously won't be changing the world at first: I need to learn the trade, but after the two year program, all bets are off. I want to research and really make a difference in people's lives. I want to be challenged and find new, innovative ways of assisting people and their goals. I also want to be more involved in working with athletes and although I can do this as a massage therapist, I feel I have a better shot as a physiotherapist.
With all of this in mind, the massage therapy training I have is quite extensive and I will definitely draw on that knowledge and experience. I really believe that alternative health care professionals need to respect each others' differences and strengths of their professions. They need to band together for the betterment of their clients/patients. That is why I think the massage therapy training will greatly benefit my clients when I become a physiotherapist in the future.
Anyway, what sparked this post was that I got my application into my university of choice and received confirmation from one of my professors from Wilfrid Laurier University that she would be very willing to be a reference for me. It's exciting to see things moving forward and to know that in September I could be joining the throngs of students everywhere and making my appearance on campus.
I am going to keep my university choice to myself for now. Call it supersticious, but I would rather hold on to that until I know if I got in or not. So, wish me luck. :)

On another note, I wonder how Glacier will take to being a student again in a much larger learning facility. Only time will tell, but I have full confidence in him-he's so laid back that I could probably ask him to attend a Gren Day concert with me every day for the rest of his life and he would just go along happily. :)