Same Sex Marriage Legalized in the United States

Welcome to the 21st century, America.

Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4 vote that the Constitution guarantees a right to same sex marriage. In the words of Justice Anthony Kennedy, "No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were." While I'm somewhat disturbed that the ability to determine a group's rights hinged on a single vote, I'm pleased with the final result.

It's been a long road to finally get same sex couples the rights they deserve. In 2008, I took to the streets to protest when California voters legalized discrimination by passing Proposition 8. Four years later, a U.S. appeals court ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional ultimately leading to the issue being sent to the U.S. Supreme Court for a final decision. Hard to believe that it's been 7 years, but in this country change is slow.

While we've finally eradicated this dark mark of legalized discrimination against same sex couples, the battle is not over yet. Since Friday's ruling, I've observed numerous individuals (mostly religious) around me and on social media express disagreement with the ruling, along with derogatory and stereotypical statements about LGBTs in general. Additionally, certain states and counties have already made efforts to deny marriage licenses to same sex couples (though I'm sure their efforts will be futile).

As a social worker, I have to be understanding of others' cultural and religious beliefs. However, I struggle when those belief systems involve supporting legislation that segregates and treats certain populations as sub-human. My hope is that with further education, these people will open their eyes and realize that we are all humans and hence should be treated with dignity and granted the same rights.

Congratulations, America! You did well this time!

The Best/Worst Graduation Speech I've Ever Heard

You know it's graduation season when your social media feeds are inundated with videos/text from various graduation speeches. A number of well-off engineers I know shared this particular speech, which resulted in strong, conflicting mixed reactions on my part. I haven't felt this uncomfortable reading something since the Any Chua Wall Street Journal article.

Here's a copy of the "speech" here: Dear graduates: Don’t follow your dreams (A commencement speech for the mediocre) 
 
I can't decide if this is the best or most arrogant commencement speech I have ever read. Basically, author Tim Donovan states that people should err on the safe side when making career decisions and not pursue non-financially lucrative dreams because they will most likely not succeed. In his opinion, it's better to live a stable life than risk failure, and that passions should be relegated to hobby status.

To a certain level, I can understand where Mr. Donovan is coming from. On one hand, not everyone can succeed as an artist, musician, writer, [insert humanities field here]. The author himself worked as a waiter for many years before making it big. Even fields in the social sciences (such as social work) don't always provide livable incomes. Safe degrees in fields like computer science, engineering, medicine, and business generally guarantee enough disposable income for people to pay their bills and live comfortable lives. On the other hand, I find it ironic that a humanities major who ultimately became successful by following his dreams is telling the rest of us to simply take the safe route.

Tim Donovan targets the general student population in his "speech" - the mediocre. A question I can't help by ask is this: Who are the true mediocre in this situation? Is it people who play it safe and potentially live mundane yet stable lives, or those who risk their financial security in hopes of doing something great or achieving their dreams? While some of the biggest risk takers I know could have higher incomes and larger nest eggs, these individuals are the ones who seem to be having the most adventure, seeing the world, and making the most out of life.

On a personal note, I'm someone who tried to balance dreams (studying music) with stability (a college counseling job) but ultimately erred on the side of practicality (a job in the medical sector). My job is fine, but I regularly wonder if I'd be happier if I pursued something even less financially pragmatic than social work. Maybe I'll get that music degree someday (to the horror of my family/friends), but for now I'll be part of the mediocre.

Obama Says He Wants More Young People To Become Social Workers

It's been a while since I've made a social work related post!  I'll try to do a better job of throwing in social work related material among my product reviews and shopping/deal/travel articles.  I am still a social worker after all!
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Nice feel good article from Social Workers Speak, but certainly easier said than done:

Obama says he wants more young people to become social workers | Social Workers Speak

Let's face it, despite the increasing demand for (geriatric) social workers, there is decreasing incentive for students to go into the social work field.  In this economy, why would a practical student take on loads of debt to get a graduate degree in a field with low returns?

If we want more social workers, then we need to provide financial incentives for students to enter the field.  For me, that would include reducing student loan debt (which President Obama touched on) and higher wages.  It's a deterrent to pay someone with a masters degree and a license the same wages as someone with a 2 year degree.  As I've stated many times on this blog, the best way we can ensure this is to pass federal title protection laws so non-social workers can't take our jobs.

It's great to see the social work profession acknowledged by the President.  However, we have a long way to go before we receive the respect and compensation we deserve.

2014: Another New Start

It's been a while since my last blog post.  Between work, travel, and general writer's block, I've really haven't written very much lately.  Hence, I really feel like my already mediocre writing skills have diminished even more!  This year, I'm hoping to change that by making alterations that facilitate more frequent posting and allow me more practice in writing.

The first major change is streamlining my blogs.  Looking through my archives, I noticed that I was cross-posting many of my posts to my other blog.  Instead of having two infrequently updated blogs, I figured it would be best to consolidate everything into one blog.  I will still keep Adventures of a (not so) Cheap Social Worker up for now, but all the posts from there can now be found on this site.

Postings on this site will pertain to my job, the social work field, anything remotely social work/healthcare related, money related issues, and my attempts to make the most of a social worker salary.  Like the title of this blog states, I am NOT cheap, but will try (and probably fail) so as to make the most of my money while having the most fun.

I have another infrequently updated blog that documents my daily like and things I like to do for fun, which is to travel.  I think of it as my escape from social work.  I'll probably post a link once I've fixed it up a little.

To end this post, here are my goals for 2014, which I will elaborate on in future posts.  I will keep the list short to increase the likelihood of meeting them all:
1) Blog more frequently
2) Travel more
3) Earn more money that I did last last
4) Spend less than I did last year

Wish me luck!  Happy 2014 everyone!

A Return to Blogging

Wow, almost four months have passed since my last post!  Seems like so much time has passed that even Blogger has changed its interface...  I've definitely been doing a bad job at blogging.  Between work, sitting in traffic several hours a day, trying to exercise, and trying to relax after a long day, I really don't have time for much.

I've been thinking about the format of my blogs and what to do with them.  Since I don't blog frequently enough, one option is to recombine them into a single blog again.  I suppose I could also keep them separate and find a way to connect them into a bigger site at some point.  My blogs will always be works in progress, so expect changes in the future!

Quick life update: Still working the same jobs, living at home, and not having much luck with the Bay Area housing market.  Seriously, who wants to pay $1000/month to live in a room in a house?  Doesn't help than my parents expect me to live at home until I either get married or buy a house. Given my home situation, I wonder if I would have a better life if I did go to medical/law/engineering school.  Then I realize that my doctor friends have debt in the six figure range (and make less than expected after malpractice insurance/taxes/overhead), my lawyer friends are mostly unemployed and in six figure debt , and my engineering friends only make slightly more than I do.  I suppose it's sad times for everyone right now.

The positive thing about all of this is having extra money to do a little traveling.  It's quite addicting and a motivating factor in finding a career that lets me travel all over the place.  I'll talk about my trips at some point.

Well, that's all for now.  I'll also be updating Cheap Social Worker, so please feel free to check that out too!

Women’s Pay More Equal to Men in Social Work | Social Workers Speak

This morning, I found this promising article that reported that women "only" make 2% less than men in the field of social work. While initially encouraging, I was reminded of some articles I've read in the past that stated otherwise.

After some searching, I found an old NASW press release and Social Workers Speak article that criticized the fact that Payscale only collected data from bachelors of social work majors. They referred readers to the National Association of Social Workers Compensation and Benefits Study, which provided a more accurate picture of social worker salaries since it included data from masters of social work graduates.

Unfortunately, this NASW study shows that the median salary of female social workers is $11,000 lower than male social workers ($53,000 and $64,000, respectively). This difference is significantly higher than 2%. One can only speculate why the gender pay disparity increases so much between bachelors and masters graduates. However, we do know that much work still needs to be done within the profession to reduce and ultimately eliminate this inequality.

Women’s Pay More Equal to Men in Social Work | Social Workers Speak

Becoming a Counselor: Addiction counseling

Here is an excellent post from Becoming a Counselor that talks about addiction. My favorite parts of this post are the pictures, which would make great educational handouts during individual or group counseling sessions. Definitely worth the read, especially for people like me who don't do much drug counseling.

Becoming a Counselor: Addiction counseling: Quite some time ago after attending a few weekend courses related to addiction I became interested in working with this population of peopl...

Going Mobile

I've created mobile versions of my blogs for fellow social workers with smartphones. Hopefully they're much easier to view than the old non-mobile format! Check them out using your cell phone:

Cheap Social Worker
Cheap Social Worker Adventures

Enjoy!

Proposition 8 Ruled Unconstitutional

Great news coming from California today! A U.S. appeals court ruled 2-1 against Proposition 8, a ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage in California. While the ban will still be in effect until the Supreme Court rules on the case, this is certainly a step in the positive direction.

To quote Judge Stephen Reinhardt, "Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples."

I come from a Catholic family, with a number of family members who don't believe in same-sex marriage. Most of them voted yes on Proposition 8. Arguments I've heard from my family members against same-sex marriage include them not liking gays and lesbians personally, questions about how same-sex couples can biologically give birth and raise families without "mothers" or "fathers", homosexuality being against Catholic teaching, and not wanting sex-sex couples to get married in a Catholic church. As a social worker, I know that I am supposed to respect these perspectives, as most of them are ingrained through culture and upbringings in a country that doesn't respect diversity as much as the United States. Similarly, I have family members who only believe I should date within my religion and race, and spurn any argument made otherwise.

Trying to be the understanding one can be frustrating, as these arguments against sex-sex couples are not reasons to deprive an entire group of legal rights. However, cultural beliefs are extremely powerful and hard to change. I know the best I can do for now is to continue to be understanding and try to educate.

Change is slow, but this ruling in California gives me hope that the oppression of LGBTs will end someday. I can only imagine what it's like being in their shoes right now. Thank you, US. appeals court!

Facebook

I finally created a facebook page! I figured it would be another way to keep people updated on my posts and other news. Please add me here: Cheap Social Worker

Twitter

I finally signed up for a Twitter account! Feel free to add me for the latest updates: Follow me on Twitter!

Quick Ways To Help Japan

The situation in Japan is both horrifying and heartbreaking. While I know that many of us want to help, traveling to Japan might not be possible. Therefore, here are some quick and simple ways to assist the relief process:

Donate via text:
-Red Cross: Text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

-Salvation Army: Text "Japan" or "Quake" to 80888 to donate $10.

-World Vision: Text "4JAPAN" to 20222 to make a $10 donation.

An extensive list can be found here: Text to donate

Donate via Paypal:
You can use your Paypal account to donate to one of eight charities.

Please spread the world so we can provide maximum assistance to those impacted by this catastrophe. Also, if you are looking for a loved one please know that Google has launched a people finder that might have some information.

It seems like so many places have been impacted by natural disasters recently. Let's hope that they can all recover as soon as possible.

8.9 Japan Earthquake

I've spent this evening watching news coverage of the earthquake in Japan and texting family in nearby countries to get to higher ground. Events like these are absolutely horrifying and a stern reminder that natural disasters can strike without warning.

While listening to the news, I decided that I needed to have an emergency kit in my room. Grabbing a backpack from my closet, I stuffed it with clothes, first aid tools, a flashlight, batteries, and a bottle of Gatorade. I don't really have much at home, so I might invest in a real disaster kit sometime soon. Since I live in an earthquake prone area, it's probably wise to have basic necessities in a bag so I could just grab it and go.

Apparently the entire West Cost is on tsunami alert. My hope is that this is only a safety precaution. Be safe, everyone!

New Look

I spent the majority of today messing around with Blogger's different templates. As much as I enjoyed the polka dots, I feel that the new templates give my blogs a cleaner and fresher look. Maybe someday I'll learn CSS and design something really awesome involving polka dots.

I have work tomorrow, so that means I should probably go to bed early instead of playing around with my blogs. In the meantime, check out my latest article on my Cheap Social Worker blog, which gives advice on balancing becoming a social worker career with addressing financial wants and needs. Have a great evening everyone!

Recent changes to this blog

Lately, I've been thinking about the scope of this blog. While I enjoy writing about money saving tips and social work issues, I feel that having both topics on the same blog may be a little too much. Hence, I've decided to divide my writing into two different blogs!

(not so) Cheap Social Worker will focus on my attempts to make the most of my social worker salary. This site will not just be for social workers, but for anyone who wishes to maximize fun while minimizing expenditures.

Adventures of a (not so) Cheap Social Worker will function as my personal blog. Here, I will talk about happenings in my life along with random social work topics. As many in our field like to say, "Social work is not just a career, it's a passion!"

As you can see, I have already moved posts leaning more towards social work and my personal life to my Adventures blog. I hope this new format works well for everyone, as I am pretty excited about this change!