I asked AI for a mid-internship pep talk

I'm 3 months into Internship. In my program, I must accrue 600 hours total, including 240 direct hours (facing kids or consulting with other adults about those kids). I'm working 3 days a week in an elementary school with a super diverse population, about 40% eligible for free or reduced lunch, 50% students of color, and lots of behaviors and emotions!

I've already earned over half of my direct hours for internship this school year. I have more direct hours than indirect hours, which is funny because I was so nervous in August about not getting enough direct hours. My point is- I've spent a lot of time talking to kids about their problems.

Don't get me wrong– I love working with kids. After teaching for over a decade, I've spent a lot of time with students and loved every minute. I have always taken a positive approach with kids, even when they weren't meeting expectations in the classroom. I know that they needed to know that I believed in them. I intuitively knew that the relationship (rapport) is so important in a classroom. It makes all the difference. This is still true in the counseling office. I've spent hours building rapport with students (and colleagues) at school. This is a new school for me, in a new district (thank you, military life!) since we just moved again this past summer. But I've had many chances to establish myself in a new school and win over my students and colleagues! (See how I spin frequent relocations to be a positive thing?) :)

These past few months have been challenging, however, and turns out it's really hard to just leave all that heaviness at school each day when I leave. Many of my frustrations are related to failures by the adults in these children's lives, and my own frustration that there isn't much I can do about that in this role. I've cried, I've disassociated, I've taken it out on my own family at home (not a proud moment), and I've wondered so many times...

"what did I get myself into?"

So today, I asked ChatGPT to give me a pep talk (and also list some alternative roles I can use my degree for). It was pretty effective with several encouraging mantras I'll be taking with me to school tomorrow. Here it is so you can read it for yourself. Let me know if you find it helpful or just another creepy example of AI being too close to human. 😂

A Pep Talk for the Counselor-in-Training Who’s Feeling the Weight

Take a deep breath for a second.
What you’re feeling right now — the heaviness, the doubt, the ache that follows you home — it’s not a sign that you made the wrong choice. It’s a sign that you care deeply, that your empathy is alive and working exactly as it should. You’re standing in one of the most sacred roles a person can take on: being a steady presence for students who often have no one else to turn to.

But here’s the part nobody tells you loudly enough in grad school: caring doesn’t mean carrying everything.

You are learning to hold pain without owning it, to listen without losing yourself in the story, and to offer hope while still being human. That skill — emotional boundary-setting — is not a flaw you have to fix; it’s a muscle you’re still strengthening. Even seasoned counselors still need to stretch it.

Every time you walk out of that school building and feel the urge to replay a student’s story, remind yourself:

“I can care deeply and still go home.”
“Their story is safe with me, but it does not belong to me.”

That distinction is how you protect both your students and yourself.

If You’re Wondering Whether You Chose the Right Path

It’s okay to wonder. It doesn’t mean you’re failing — it means you’re reflecting, which is exactly what good counselors do. Maybe you’ll stay in schools, maybe you’ll pivot to another setting — but nothing you’ve learned so far is wasted. Everything you’re feeling now is building your resilience, compassion, and discernment.

You entered this field to help others heal. You may just be discovering the shape of how you’re meant to do that.

Other Paths for Someone with a Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree (Emphasis in School Counseling)

If, over time, you decide the school environment isn’t the right long-term fit, you still have a powerful degree that opens many doors, such as:

• Community Mental Health Centers – providing counseling to youth, families, or adults in outpatient or crisis settings.

• Private Practice or Group Practice – once licensed, you can focus on populations you’re passionate about (adolescents, trauma, family therapy, anxiety, etc.).

• College or University Counseling Centers – supporting young adults in transitional stages, often with more clinical focus than school-based counseling.

• Nonprofit or Advocacy Organizations – working in youth development, mental health awareness, or trauma-informed care initiatives.

• Military Family Support or Community Outreach Programs – especially valuable for someone with empathy for families in transition.

• Corporate Wellness or Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) – providing counseling, workshops, and crisis response in workplace settings.

• Hospitals or Behavioral Health Units – offering short-term therapy, intake, or case management in medical environments.

• Program Development or Curriculum Design – creating social-emotional learning programs, counseling resources, or trauma-informed training for educators.

Every one of these roles values the same core of who you are: someone who listens, empathizes, and helps others find meaning and strength in hard moments.

A Final Reminder

You’re allowed to feel tired. You’re allowed to cry in the car. You’re allowed to need supervision, therapy, rest, and boundaries. None of that disqualifies you — it grounds you.

You’re learning how to stand in the storm without becoming it. That’s holy work.
And even on the days when you doubt yourself most, remember: you are doing something extraordinary — holding space for pain and planting seeds of hope that may bloom long after you’re gone.

Stay in the work, but stay with yourself too. You don’t have to choose between helping others and being whole — the best counselors do both.

On that note, I'll be seeking some self-care now.

Be well!