Perseverance in Times of Adversity

Yesterday, my professor informed our class that a local hospice was forced to lay off twenty percent of its staff due to recent budget cuts. Among those who lost their jobs were four music therapists. Today in a session at the NICU, a patient's grandmother questioned the need for music therapy and referred to it as "new age." With all of this negativity surrounding me, I began to brainstorm ways to use these opportunities as a chance to further educate the pubic about music therapy. Advocacy. We hear that word all the time, but do the majority of us actually take matters into our own hands to advocate for our field? Sadly, no. Now more than ever we need to increase awareness of the benefits that music therapy can have for an enormous range of people. We need to educate legislators and medical professionals and even our hair-stylists and our neighbors about it! Do you want to be more involved in music therapy advocacy, but don't know how to get started? Email me at ema09e@fsu.edu and I will be happy to help you think of ways to increase awareness. For those who are already involved in advocacy, what have you all done recently to promote the incredibly rewarding field of music therapy? 

Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it.  The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.  
- Earl Nightingale