u/Pebble_Cow

I know there's a wide range of positions and types of jobs but I'm really just trying to broaden my list of future potential careers. I'm in the US in a state that's relatively "low" in the number of Jews but high enough that there's schools, daycares, organizations (like JFS), and multiple synagogues.

I'm working on my bachelor's right now in social work. I want to help people and I love making connections but there are simply too many domains of social work that I'm interested in to be set on anything right now.

I used to work for a Jewish daycare and loved it. I loved being fully involved in the community, volunteered more, went to synagogue at least 2x/wk but usually more, literally made myself a little Jewish bubble that I loved and thrived in. I love all things Judaism, I love Torah study, I love sharing my knowledge and gaining more knowledge. As much as I think I would love working in a Jewish day school, I don't think that I could be a teacher. Potentially about a specific religious topic but not a regular, everyday studies teacher.

I'm happy with office jobs but I also like to be able to be on my feet if I want. I love working with kids of all ages. While income is part of it, a fulfilling life and career are the true important things to me.

Part of me has always considered becoming a rabbi and the family I used to nanny for once suggested it but I feel nowhere near smart or capable or "good" enough for a title that big. It's not completely off the table but something that I push to the back. It feels unattainable and embarrassing to consider, even though I'm doing so via the internet to a bunch of strangers.

Thank you all if you read this far. It's very appreciated.

I work in an inpatient pediatric psych hospital as a direct care behavioral technician. We're known for not turning any kid away for any reason and do tend to get the more violent kids because of that. The kids we have here, like most kids, struggle with being told no. I'm newer to the field so I still have a lot of learning to do, and one of my biggest struggles has been ODD.

The arguing, the overall not taking responsibility for actions, and general loss of temper isn't what I have a hard time with. That I can do. I struggle most when there's a non-negotiable task/expectation, like going to bed or remaining quiet during the night. Anything I do escalates it. I know to avoid power struggles and directed, firm commands. Offering choices that are available, like telling the patient that they have to be in their room and quiet at night but they have the choice of sleeping or staying awake. They can read, they can color, I can offer a snack. The patient I'm thinking of in particular tends to get more dysregulated whether I'm engaging with the behavior directly or using planned ignoring to try and move on from the power struggle dynamic the patient may be feeling.

My biggest go-to with these kiddos has been something along the lines of "going to your room at night is a hospital rule so that isn't a choice. But the choices you do have are xyz," adjusting for age/understanding as needed. This worked really well when I was in a lower acuity day setting but I've found multiple patients at my new position that genuinely don't respond well to anything I've successfully tried.

I truly don't need every patient to like me but I want them all to feel safe while they're here, and I worry that consistent issues with this will potentially harm their abilities to focus on their own improvement because of how constant our struggles are.

I'm not close to family nor do I live near them. The high holy days always have me more in my feelings about not feeling connected but this year it feels so much heavier.

I live in a decent sized community in the US given the overall climate of the region. The community is not lacking but my own personal connection is. I've lived here for few years and at first, I went to every service, worked within the Jewish community, was in a relationship with another Jew, and all of my friends were Jewish. And now it's the opposite. My job, my friends, my whole life. Which is fine, being in a Jewish bubble isn’t what I want, but I keep having to stop myself from talking about Jewish topics and holidays. The people around me are great and I strongly believe would see it positively but I'm tired of explaining. Tired of questions. I like to teach a lot but sometimes I need a break anr it's hard when I can't even come home to a partner who gets it. My current partner is not Jewish. I love him to pieces and wouldn't change anything but sometimes I just want it all to feel "normal."

I went to all of the high holiday services last year but so far this year I skipped the Erev Rosh HaShanah service and I don't think I'll be able to make myself go to today or tomorrow's. It feels wrong to go alone. My few Jewish friends I have aren't observant and while they know when the holidays are, they do nothing with them.

We're moving to a state with 3x as many Jews next year and I'm hoping the change of scenery will help as well as the greater number of resources and potential jobs within the community. I miss not having to request off for holidays that I used to get off automatically. I miss not having to explain to every single person I meet why I don't eat pork. I have a coworker who keeps pressuring me to eat food she's cooked at home and she does it with all good intentions but no matter how many times I explain it, she doesn't understand that no pork does not equal kosher.

My new job has required rotating Friday/Saturdays. I used to mostly observe shabbat (I drive to synagogue and if I need directions somewhere I'll use GPS, I get very lost very quickly). It's the only job close enough to me that makes enough money to live on and so for now I just feel like I've given up completely.

One positive in everything is that I work with youth in an inpatient setting. There was kid today who's file stated they were Jewish and that it was very significant to them. I've not personally met this kid but I'm involved indirectly in care. I was able to set up a private room and coordinate extra staff with my supervisor so this kid could have a livestream service. They likely won't see family for a few days, won't be getting any apples or honey, or getting to feel physically present. But they can at least take part, and that makes me feel at least a tiny bit better about the world.

I can't even express to others IRL how ingenius I am when I say I named my dog after Rosh HaShanah because she was adopted the day prior and how silly and connected to her I feel when I say "l'shana tova u'metuka." So for today, I'm relaxing at home and cuddling my best, sweetest girl, my Metuka. I'm lonely and sad and overwhelmed, but at least she exists with me today. (And at least she's Jewish. Had a bark mitzvah at 12 months old so...)

My SO and I are about to start TTC within the next few months and I keep struggling with the idea of circumcision. (My partner and I are both ftm so the experience there is limited). I'm Jewish and my partner is not, and he's mostly leaving the decision up to me.

I struggle because I see all the reasons to not. To allow them bodily autonomy, to not alter their body before they have a voice, and an added medical procedure for a baby that "doesn't" need it.

But then I also see the other side of it because I want my kid to have that one extra layer of connection to our culture. Our kid will grow up in Jewish spaces, go through Jewish day schooling (unless they wish to not), and most of our friends are Jewish or Jewish-adjacent. I have a Jewish and queer friend who just had a baby boy and they chose circumcision last minute. They weren't going to but then felt compelled to after. There's so much discourse and strong opinions and I want to know people's personal experiences and beliefs. Everyone is allowed their own opinions and I don't want this to be a space for argument but a place for listening.

Observance level if it's relevant: I'm a mix between conservative/reform. I attend synagogue at least once a week, attend Torah study, and for the most part observe shabbat ( I work in psych healthcare and have mandatory shifts due to short staffing). We have no local kosher meat so I buy regular and keep kosher-style, but all other items I eat are kosher. I'm also studying 1:1 with my rabbi currently because I hope to someday become a rabbi myself.

My SO and I are looking into moving to Oregon next year. The weather is what we want and it's way more progressive than our current state, which is very important to us. I've tried to do research on my own but I'm struggling to find any quality info on what it looks like on a day to day basis or for holidays.

Currently I live somewhere with a decent enough sized community. A K-12 day school, half a dozen synagogues, an Eruv in one of the wealthy neighborhoods, and a very nice JCC. While I'm comfortable moving somewhere with less community, I'm hesitant based on the little information I've found online. I grew up in a tiny town with 2 synagogues. Many years without a rabbi or even enough for a minyan, and now I've been spoiled.

I'm currently a member with a small synagogue that I love. The people are like family and I truly feel at home. It's progressive enough without losing out on the focus of prayer, torah study, and Jewish laws that you find in other more progessive synagogues. I'm worried that regardless of where I go, there'll be nothing like this one. My SO is also wanting to pursue conversion and I worry that it'll be difficult if we do that where there's not a lot of us.

Suggestions of other places are welcome but I really want to focus near Bend. I have a really close friend that lives there and the goal is to live near her again.

My SO and I are in search of names that are Jewish and sound Jewish, but aren't as difficult for non-Jews. He typically doesn't like names that I like, such as Tzipporah, Miriam (which I think is adorable), Tova, Eitan, Lior, Maor, Yael. We live in the US in a relatively decent sized community. Not New York level but big enough that there's a JCC, numerous thriving synagogues, and a K-12 day school, so an obviously Jewish name is not an issue.

I've suggested names like Ruth and Esther but those are a no go too. At this point, we're looking at the very Irish names he likes and while I'd be fine with that if we like those better, I at least want names from my culture to be on the table too. I personally don't like Sarah, Samuel, Noah, Hannah. Names that are common for non-Jews too.

The only name he's liked so far is Avi. So I guess I'm looking for names that are common and easy enough to say, that his family won't totally butcher, and are maybe similar to the vibes of Avi? We have a pet that's name starts with Tz and it took so long for his family to get it.

I was just diagnosed a few weeks ago with bipolar 2 and literally started medication today. Normally I'll have a high for a week or a few weeks and then I'll crash one day and be deeply depressed for a few more weeks or even months. Then I'll plateau and feel "normal" for a bit until the cycle repeats.

Recently I started a new job. It's overnights, which I've learned through research isn't the best for people with bipolar disorder. I really like it. But I've been tracking my mood/energy and my issues coincide directly with starting it.

I've been having more intense highs and more intense lows. I'm safe and have no plans of hurting myself or anything. I was awake for almost 36 hours, finally was able to go to sleep for a few hours, and then woke up very depressed. It's been changing every few days where I'll be really good and not sleep at all or get maybe 3 hours at most. Then I'll have a day where I get a little more sleep and wake up absolutely in the dumps. I'm getting emotional whiplash and I just want to feel like I can breathe.

My job is good. It's easy and low stress. And the pay is so good. Like easily $10/hr more than anything else I could find. But I'm dreading going in. I feel like I can't handle this and like it's ruining the little mental health I have. I need the money and idk what I'm supposed to do. I don't want to go, I'm crying non-stop, and I just want to turn my phone off and never go again. They do have daytime hours but the days are very stressful shifts and I've only been there a month; they require 6 months of employment before any changes to your schedule.

I don't know what I'm looking for with this post. I just feel so tired, even when I'm having higher energy. Again, I'm safe and have supports and I'm not in any danger. I'm just so done with my brain being so non-stop and it's hitting me that this is my future. Like yes it can and will get better but it's something I'm always going to have to deal with and it's just soul crushing. I just want to feel okay and actually be able to hold a job.

My fiance and I are starting to talk family planning and we were considering using his brother as our donor. We really like this idea as it would allow our child to still have that genetic connection to his side of the family, with grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, etc that our child would be able to be related to.

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The plan would be to be 100% open with any kids from this. They'd know from day one and have open access to their donor/bio dad as he would be their uncle. I'm a little nervous that their side of the family wouldn't see our child as my fiance's child as well but they're all amazing and supportive and I know it truly wouldn't be a big deal for them.

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I haven't been able to find a whole lot of information about using family members as donors and wanted to know about the experiences of real people or what others would think about an arrangement like this.

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We really don't want to use a sperm bank or anonymous donor in any form. We've considered asking a friend of ours but both of us like the idea of having a truly solid understanding of the other biological component in our future children and knowing that he would be in their lives regularly.

My cat is an 11yo SF DSH. She had a recent comprehensive panel including a full bloodwork, full thyroid screen, and a UA and everything was normal. She also had full body radiographs that showed a luxating patella and constipation. She has inappropriate urination but that's been a life-long issue. She eats well, mostly wet slightly warmed but some dry. BCS of 5, no weight or behavior change. No other significant things to note, currently not taking any medications.

She's been vomiting regularly her entire life. It doesn't matter if she's eaten recently or not, she's vomiting usually once a day but will sometimes go a few days without. Sometimes she'll vomit 3+ times in one day but it's almost always bile.

She also scratches her neck to the point she'll be bleeding with wounds all around the sides and back. No fleas/ticks/mites. We've done skin scraping and usually it's just debris. It fluctuates, sometimes bigger, more frequent wounds and sometimes she'll let them heal. Right now they're worse than ever before. We've tried topical, oral, and injectable antibiotics and steroids and nothing has helped. We've also tried steroid ear drops as she as stenotic ear canals to see if that could be part of the problem.

I don't like to ask the internet for help but we don't know how to help our baby. She's been to multiple different vets at different clinics, holistic and western and we just don't know what to do next. Ideally we'd take her to dermatology but currently that's not financially feasible.