Kayleigh has lived her whole life trying to make a mind of her own. Even with being raised in a city where education is flawed and ideal are narrow minded she managed to make it out with a mission. She wanted to try and heal the people around her an...
The city of Chicago holds many different opportunities for people. Luckily for me, as someone who wants to go into civil service and change the world there's few places better than this city to do so. Between the high homelessness rate, the crazy amount of gun violence, and the beaten and broken there was so much to aid in. Kids who needs homes and schools that need funding. I honestly didn't even know where to start.
But I would need a job in order to get my foot in the door, preferably with the government here in Chicago. While civil service falls under many different jobs, I can't walk more than one path at once. If I did I would never get to where I'm going.
I look through what my college had forwarded to me until I find something that caught my eye. And after a few minutes of scrolling I find exactly what I was looking for. The city of Chicago was looking for a public social worker to move things along on the front lines.
Now a social worker is many things. They promote social change, development and cohesion in communities either on a micro level or on a macro one. It's understanding people and then having the strength and knowledge to do something to change the way the world thinks and acts. You can work for a family or maybe a whole institution depending on what social injustice is happening. Basically I'm doing what I can through the government to make life better for the people of the city, and that's all I wanted.
So I decide to fill out a application and hope for the best. I'll apply for other jobs as well as this one, but this is the one I wanted. This is where my impact will be quick and bigger than anywhere else. I had the degrees and the internships and passed all the boards for this job. Yes I was young but these are young times in the city. Current problems call for current solutions and I can't help but feel like I can be the solution.
I send off the applications and hope for the best. I decide to give my dad a call to tell him the good news and he was so excited. Of course he wanted to come back already and was making any excuse to be in the Windy City. But I promise him that once I get a job and settle in I'll have him and Andy out for a weekend.
After I talk to my dad for a hour I decide to call Patrick. He was at morning skate for the first playoff game this season later on tonight as I was filling out my application. Now we were both pretty much free and wanting to do something fun. So we decide to meet at the beach and go for a swim.
Being from Virgina I was very much a beach girl. I loved the hot sand and the cool water and how well they go together even though they were very different. A lot like Patrick and I. I was excited to get some sun and let things fall into place around me.
Once I find Patrick I see a few of his friends joined us which I didn't mind. We find a sand volleyball court and decide to give it a try. As long as no one gets hurt before the game tonight we will be okay.
I decide to play in my bathing suit so I can just jump in the water to cool off. So I take my tank top off and toss it in my bag. It's May now and it was getting to be hot. Chicago only knows extreme weather so from May to September it was hot as hell and October to February it was freezing. So basically you have March and April to enjoy spring and you can flip a coin for fall. But I was ready for a summer filled with opportunities, countless ones that lead to endless happiness for everyone.
"I didn't know you had a tattoo" Patrick claims as he stands next to me. On the back of my shoulder I had a anchor with Virginia's state flower around it.
"I got it as soon as I turned 18, and when Monica turned 18 she got the same one in the same place. Because no matter where we go in life our anchor is dropped in Virginia surrounded by the beautiful things such as the dogwood flower.
Growing up Andy had a boat and he would always take us kids out on it every chance we had. Monica and I loved dropping the anchor knowing that we would be stable and couldn't float away anywhere. So the tattoo was to pay tribute to a lot of different things" I admit.
"It's beautiful, but you don't seem like the person to get something so... permeant" he claims.
"I'm not afraid of commitment" I smirk as he smiles back. "But I know the future is fluid, constantly changing with the ripples of life. And a tattoo isn't exactly something that goes with the fluidity of life. But we need morals, ideas that we can rely on no matter how troubled the waters may be. A anchor is a good concept to be sturdy and heavy in situations where if you take it too lightly it will take you away" I say.
"Do you want another one" he wonders as he lightly runs over my current tattoo with his finger. My bare skin tingles as his skin meets mine.
"I do have a idea for one. You inspired it, actually" I admit.
"What is it" he perks up.
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"It's the yin and the yang sign, but on one side it's the moon and the other it's the sun.
I've always wanted a yin and yang tattoo because it represents so much that I believe in. The good in the bad and the bad in the good. How two conflicting sides can have so much more in common than anyone realizes, how they fit together so perfectly. How they're the same thing in different perspectives of life. The meaning of it is so deep and can mean so much to people.
And the moon and the sun would be for us. You always call me the moon and you have always been my sun. Even though we're so different we got together. We make each other whole and this means everything to me. It means enough to put it on my body forever" I admit.
"I didn't know you felt this way" he claims.
"Well now you know" I tease.
We play sand volleyball for a while before jumping in the water. I forget all about the application up until I see I had a email form the state. I quickly open it up and see what was said.
They sent me a email back offering a in person interview and a possible position as a social worker which was good enough news to make me excited.
I let out a shriek and Patrick appears by my side. "What's wrong" he asks frantically.
"I got a interview for the job I wanted" I cheer as his eyes light up. He quickly wraps his arms around me as he pulls me into the tightest hug. "I'm so proud of you little moon" he whispers in my ear.
