Wrapping Up

I have exactly one more thing to do this conference, and that is to attend exactly ONE presentation this morning before hopping on the shuttle and getting outta Dodge (obscure Kansas reference ;-). This conference has been a busy one for me, mostly meetings, greetings, and talks with folks on the way to different meetings and greetings. I have enjoyed myself this entire time and have felt less exhausted than in the past several meetings. I consider this to be a good thing and hope the trend continues next year in Jacksonville, Florida.

As AMTA 2012 comes to a close, there are several things that I want to emphasize and review for myself. Please indulge me as I think "out loud," so to speak.

1. My AMTA membership is important to me. It is important to be an active part of the organization that represents what I do on a daily basis. Sure, the dues are significant and sometimes difficult to accomplish on my limited budget, but the things that AMTA does for me on a daily basis are worth the expense. I am always learning about more and more benefits that just surprise me. I mean, who knew that AMTA was involved in legal cease and desist orders to protect my title of "Music Therapist?" I didn't, until yesterday.
2. I am no longer young. Sniff. Sniff. Waaaah! Now, this realization is not really a surprising one for me...I mean, I have been a professional for almost (shudder) 20 years, but I am starting to feel the generational divides that exist in our profession. I am stuck in the awkward generation. I am not a novice therapist by any definition, but I am definitely still considered young by most of the AMTA leadership. I stood at the internship fair yesterday, talking to the young men and women of the newest generation, and felt ancient...but in a great way!
3. The reach of social media is amazing. This was my year for meeting virtual friends face-to-face. I have been a blogger for many years now, and this is the first year where someone came up to me and mentioned that she read my blog. Wow! I have met many of the people who have attended webinars and folks that I have corresponded with through the Music Therapists Unite group on Facebook. It is amazing how we can connect without ever sharing the same physical environment. Thank you, all, who made an effort to talk to me about social media and the things that I am passionate about. All of these interactions made this conference exhilarating and valuable to me. See you on the 'net!
4. There are many things I want to do. I want to keep reaching out to other music therapists and music therapy students. I want to keep growing the webinars that I offer. I want to work with other therapists in order to keep them interested and passionate about being a music therapist - wherever they are, and whatever they do. I think this is something that I can do for my profession.
5. I continue to love the profession of music therapy. Even though I am having some difficulties in my workplace surrounding misunderstandings and apparent lack of interest in what my profession actually does (it's so much more than happy children making happy sounds) from my immediate supervisors, I continue to feel that music is an extremely valuable therapeutic medium for the persons I serve. I feel strongly that my clients deserve my very best, every day. I also feel that I have an obligation to future clients to help others be the best music therapists they can be. I love being around people who just know, on a visceral level, that music can be everything.

Thank you all, for being at conference, for wanting to be at conference, for keeping up with what is going on in our profession, and for going out there, day after day, to work with the people who need, deserve, and require our work. See you all in Jacksonville next year??