And finally, the wheels are in motion.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who was thoroughly convinced that she was going to live on a thoroughbred breeding farm. She was also going to be a psychologist, a lighting designer/stage manager and write children's books. The day would go something like this: wake up before dawn, feed the horses, groom them, get the vet work done, see patients, evening barn chores, go into town and work on a show, come home and write kids books for an hour or two, bedtime, repeat. That girl was an overachieving idiot. That girl was me... and still is. I am still the overachieving juggler of a million things, but my focus has narrowed. I mean, I started school 7 years ago with a double major of theatre design and psychology with a minor in animal science. Then dropped to psychology with an animal science minor. And then, my head exploded and I had to go work with horses to fix it, which expanded into an overall interest in veterinary medicine... and then, I was going to become an LVT and then get a master's in psychology and work with animals part time and be a full-time therapist and raise horses on the side, and oh, yeah! Wouldn't it be cool to have a family and kids someday too? And a therapy dog! Because I can juggle all that, no sweat!
Wait... I said my focus had narrowed, right? Yeah, apparently not as much as I thought it had. OK, basically, this is all a very long-winded way of pointing out that through it all, the desire to be a psychologist has been there. In the back of my mind, it has always come back to "one day" I'll go into therapy. Over the last few years, I have noticed this coming out more and more at work. My mental focus has shifted from just making sure that the animals are well-cared for and comfortable during their illness to making sure that the owners equally comfortable and re-assured of the care they have given their pets. And to making sure that euthanasia's are equally about the pet and the owner. I've started reading more and more about the human-animal bond and grief, and using what I've learned when clients ask the Big Questions, "How will I know when it's time?" "Is this happening because of something I did/didn't do for him?" "Do you think he hate me for putting him through this treatment/surgery/hospice care?" And slowly, very slowly, it has finally clicked in my mind that I need to do what I have obviously been meant to do all this time.
Monday evening, I got my acceptance letter for school. I plan to bang out the bachelor's in psychology that I abandoned within 12-18 months so that I can move onto my master's in professional mental health counseling. So, as of June, I will be a full-time student, a full-time vet tech, and a full-time cat/dog/horse mom, all while still somehow taking care of myself. The idiot overachiever wouldn't have it any other way....