My Statement of Purpose...for my Master's degree, not life.

Here is what I wrote for the portion of my Master's degree application that required a "Statement of Purpose." I had to answer specific questions in the form of a narrative, and I thought I would post it here for comment. Not that it really inspires much comment, but this way my devoted friends and relatives can get a glimpse of why I do what I do even when it causes me so much heartache at times.

Statement of Purpose
Aurora University
Submitted by: Joslyn K. Huntsman, MSW program applicant

I have a very vivid memory from around the age of 8 or 9, standing in my basement playroom in front of the kid-sized chalkboard my parents had bought for my sister and me. As I wrote on the chalkboard, my students (various sized stuffed animals and dolls) sat quietly and all in a row on the floor, eagerly waiting for the lesson of the day.
I was confident at that time in my life that I was going to be a teacher. I cannot count the times my career plans changed from that time on, but it didn’t take long after enrolling in my first Sociology class at Rock Valley Community College that I knew I was called to work in the social services field. My personal belief is that I have so much to give those with so little. Maybe I give myself too much credit, but I know that this world is
full of so much grief and heartache, and that one person can make a difference.

At this time in my life I am very blessed with a secure job at a local social service agency, where the management is very flexible and encouraging of advanced education. I am allowed the opportunity to work part-time, without having to change
positions, and can ultimately create my own work schedule. This freedom allows me to pursue my Master’s in Social Work full time, while continuing to learn from my work experiences and earn an income. It took awhile for me to become serious about pursuing graduate work, but when the decision was made, I knew it was right – and at the right time.

I believe my personal strength in the field of social work is my ability to be real with my clients. I work very hard at establishing rapport with the people I work with by recognizing our differences, and being honest about them, but also making sure to express my sincere desire to help the family work towards stability. I think the various types of clientele I have worked with appreciate my frankness regarding their situation and realize that although we are different, we can work together towards the same goal. I validate their concerns and anger, but bring to the table how they can change their situation and how I can help them. As for my major weakness – I am easily disappointed by people’s poor choices in life. In my former position as an Intact Family Case Manager, I would see families every week, and sometimes would get very frustrated with their lack of progress in services, or their blatant disregard for doing what was best for their children. I had to take time to realize that I was helping this
family – even if I couldn’t see it or they hadn’t utilized it, but that I had touched this family’s life one way or another. At some point I had to let go and just hope that the family would make better choices and have faith that other people in their lives would do what was right for the children if the situation worsened.

It is an unrealistic expectation for anyone entering the field of social work to think that the world is strictly black and white and that situations can always be solved by reading a text book. Relatively speaking, I have only been in the field a short time, yet
have experienced working with same-sex couples, parents with gender issues and
obesity, and even middle-class families with serious abuse and neglect issues. At one point after I had just graduated college, I was encouraged to apply for a position at my church working with the youth. I told my father – I don’t feel called to work full-time with kids from good homes. Volunteer with them, yes. But, I know that my place is working with the disadvantaged and chaotic. And I believe I do a good job relating to my
clients from all walks of life.

I hope that my detailed narrative thus far has shown an accurate depiction of how my beliefs are congruent with that of Aurora University’s School of Social Work Mission and Core Values. In most cases, the clientele we service have grown up in dysfunction and do not know anything different. To most of them, their case managers and counselors are the only stable people in their lives. We are their windows to function and stability. Through education, case workers like myself will be given additional tools – better skills – to work more effectively with the disadvantaged population, helping to facilitate an increase in changed behaviors. By educating the community, we can hope more people will be encouraged to take a stand and be the mentors and heroes so
desperately needed by our clientele.

Upon graduation from Northern Illinois University in 2000, my cumulative Grade Point Average was 2.600. My explanation for this is relatively simple: I had a different ideal about school, one that included going to class and achieving decent enough grades to graduate successfully. I can honestly say my view of education has changed
greatly in the last six years, and I now look forward to advancing in knowledge and skill in order to be better equipped in the field of social work.

I would like to conclude this narrative by thanking you for considering my complete application to Aurora University’s Master of Social Work program. I believe my ability to offer unique insight and participation in my coursework, would overall prove to be an asset to your program.

How much Brad is loved

There are some serious entrepeneurs in the Student Ministry program Brad created (and was then asked to leave), and not only are these young businessmen and women intelligent and creative, but they are activists, as well!

Humor us and check out Eric's line of T-shirts and other apparel. I didn't want to spoil the experience by posting an image of the clothing, so this post is sort of bland.

I do plan on writing more about the experience Brad and I have been going through for those of you who haven't been privy to the information before now. Brad wants me to be "mature" and just be at peace with the fact that God obviously has other plans for us, but I can't help but feel that something has to be done about the way all of this played out. It just doesn't feel right to me to let it go...not yet.

God is real, and He speaks to us

Last night I sat down at the computer after Brad had been on it, and he had left open a blog he reads regularly, posted by the President of Youth Specialties. After reading the post, I demanded to know if Brad had written it, because it was so amazingly pertinent to what we have been going through that I could not believe the irony of it! And that is just the thing, it wasn't ironic -- it was God speaking to us through this man that, although we have seen him at conferences, have never met. The post is here.

This is not the only instance recently that has reinforced my faith in the Lord and His omniscience. Friends tells us that they have been praying for us, and then will receive Bible verses and quotes from their friends that speak to our situation. And these are people who are not even aware of what we are going through. One of my best friends from high school had an article written about her in the local newspaper not too long ago, based on her excellence in teaching. Shortly after Brad was asked to resign, a student's grandma stopped by and quoted to me something Carrie had said in her interview, that was appropriate to our situation. She didn't even know that Carrie was such a good friend of mine, and at the time of Carrie's interview, Brad still had his job!

So as you can see, I am overwhelmed by the awesome ways God is showing Himself to us during this time of uncertainty. It is more than reassuring to know that He will take care of us, and He will take care of you, too.

this card scares Shannon

This is the card I received from my friend Crista about a month and a half ago in honor of my 28th birthday. I thought it was a very clever card and that it was a good likeness of me.

I later learned from my friend Shannon that it actually scared her. In fact, she said it almost scared her as much as clowns do. Which, is a lot because Shannon is very scared of clowns. Really.

I'm trying to get more people to comment on this site, so this is my formal invitation for those of you who read justjoslyn.com to please comment on what you think about this card. Cute or creepy? What are the dots above her eyes? Is Joslyn's face really that round? Should I wear my hair in pigtails more often? What are your thoughts?

Love you all,
Joslyn

Passing down the tiara

A couple of years ago it seemed as if I was always sending invitations to people to come over for a hom demonstration party, i.e. Tupperware, jewelry, Creative Memories. I could almost imagine some of my friends' responses as they received yet another invitation to one of my parties: "Joslyn is having another person in her home to sell us stuff?? I'm broke!" However, I am proud to say that my self-imposed title of "Queen of the Home Party" has been passed down to my good friend, Amy.

Not only is Amy the ultimate hostess (awesome food, immaculate presentation, cordial and intentional about making everyone feel welcome and loved) she has parties to help her friends businesses! I was grateful to her for opening her home for one of my first Tupperware parties. She didn't give me any grief about it and was excited about the opportunity to help me out (and to earn her own free stuff)! I love being invited to Amy's home parties, and instead of letting myself feel like I "have" to buy something, I try to think of who I can buy something for. Is anyone's birthday coming up? Or any other gift-giving holiday? That way, I don't feel bad about buying myself something that I cannot justify in the budget, but I am still helping my friend and getting some shopping done in the mean time. Besides, I don't think my family and friends want gifts of Tupperware for every occasion (even though it is very versatile).

Another perk with attending home parties is that you get to see friends! Yes, that's right. It's the same reason you would go to any other party where the purchase of some seemingly over-priced product is not otherwise required. Now that my friend Jill and her family have moved back to the area, it is almost a guarantee that I get to see her when I go to Amy's! That is, unless she is busy fulfilling her wife-of-the-youth-pastor duties at some church function. On this Friday, however, Jill was in attendance and full of fun as ever (even though I admitted to her my disappointment that she did not bring Jackson. I guess he was sick or something...not that I really bought that excuse).

Our insta-teen Kira was also with us, and said she had a good time, but what does she tell Brad about our girls night out? That she learned different ways to give someone the middle-finger. Great. Just what two wives-of-youth-pastors should be teaching impressionable minds. Luckily for everyone involved, Kira is a level-headed, mature young lady with an even more awesome sense of humor.

Here are some pictures from Friday, again, taken with the trusty camera phone since our expensive digital camera is not only without a functioning flash, but also out of batteries. Please read the captions so that no one is unfairly incriminated based on assumed behaviors depicted in the photos (that was for you, Jill)!

Amy and Jill

(a.k.a. "The hostess with the mostest" and "The Pill")
Otis, pretending he is a person. What? He isn't?
Jill, holding an empty martini glass that was only at one time filled with a non-alcoholic spritzer!
Kira and Jill cleaning up while Joslyn sat at the table keeping Otis company.

The Arrival of JRS

Congratulations to my friends, Emily and Jeremy Skolozynski on the birth of their baby boy, Joshua. He came into the world at 2:44pm (EST) on Sunday, April 30, 2006! It's pretty amazing that I have a friend with TWO kids, now... Note to Emily: will you wait for me to catch up? Please?

This is big sister, Tyler Christine. She obviously loves her baby brother.

Joshua Ronald Skolozynski
8 lbs., 7 oz.
21 inches long