“Hey, I know you take babies. I have one who is about to be discharged from the hospital. She’ll have a lot of special needs. Do you want to pick her up tomorrow?”
That was the call I got on May 12, 2020. On May 13, 2020, I met Desiree*. Within two weeks, I was the only person in her world whom she trusted with all her little heart.
Desiree is eleven months old now, but when she was three months old, she experienced a serious brain injury. A few days later, she was admitted to the hospital, and soon afterward, was placed in foster care.
We took Desiree home and started the cycle of therapies, doctor’s appointments, more therapies, and more doctor’s appointments. To this day, because of the pandemic, none of her therapists have actually seen her in person, which means that since May 13, her actual practicing therapist — who gets weekly assignments and trainings from the “real” therapists via Zoom — has really been me.
As I did research into Desiree’s specific brain injuries, trying to find more ways to help her reach her full potential, I started learning a lot about the power of music in healing the brain. After two different therapists thought that I was a music therapist instead of just a lowly music teacher, I decided to look into this music therapy thing. After an hour on Google, I knew it was what I wanted to do.
Desiree is a sweet-tempered, spunky baby who LOVES music of almost any kind. We won her trust in large part through singing to her, and now not only is music a big part of her therapies, but it’s a big part of the rest of her life.
Desiree is a hard worker. She is brave. She has come through more in her little life than I would wish on anyone. She has changed my entire outlook on life, gotten me hooked on working with young kids with disabilities, and convinced me that music has the power to change all of our lives.
That is why I’m going back to school. I’m currently enrolled in University of Maine’s Contemporary and Popular Music program, an online Bachelor of Music degree that should take me about two years to finish, since I have an earlier BA. This BM will be a stepping stone to completing the Music Therapy Equivalency program from St. Mary of the Woods (currently the only one of its kind), and from there, completing the internship and taking the test necessary to become a certified music therapist. If I can qualify for enough scholarships, I could be a licensed music therapist in five years!
For the past couple years, my husband and I have been saving for college in a Bright Directions 529 mutual fund. We weren’t sure which of us it would be, but we knew that we wanted to go back to college if at all possible. We are committed to staying debt-free, so we knew that saving early would be key!
Some months have been harder than others, but having the money automatically deducted means that college savings come first: nothing else can take priority. To stay on budget, we’ve said no to many of the things our friends spend their money on — restaurants, manicures, etc. We’ve also used coupons, shopped sales, and bought off-brand. Finally, I’m spending this final month before my classes begin applying for as many scholarships as I can.
I encourage other college students to do the same. Let’s be committed, let savings for college be top priority, be willing to say no to indulgences now so you can say yes to college later, and apply for scholarships! All of this work will pay off when we graduate, debt-free, ready to begin our new careers without student loans pulling us back.
*Note: Desiree is a pseudonym.
