My Path to Play

Hello, and welcome. My name is Alexx, and I am a Child Life Specialist in Mississauga ON Canada.

I began this blog in 2015 when I graduated from University. At the time, here in Canada, there was only one Child Life program (now there are two) and it was very competitive to get in to. After not receiving even an interview following my first application attempt, I decided to purse an alternate path. This lead me to the world of blogging and documenting my journey.

I posted on the ACLP forum, asking if there were any other Canadian child life hopefuls pursuing their certification in an alternative manner. I received emails from many people who had travelled to the USA to pursue their education for child life. While this was not something I was planning on doing, I still ensured I remained connected with these girls, as we shared so much in common.

Two of us decided to create a Facebook page for Canadian students looking to get in to the child life field. I thought there had  to be others out there who were on a similar path as me, but I found no one. Our Facebook group gained traction and more and more people joined. I started blogging so I could document my struggles and frustrations with following my goal to CCLS certification alternatively.

From 2015 to early 2018, this blog was a place to truthfully and openly discuss my personal path to play. In 2016 I gained my CCLS credentials and in 2017 I got a full time job as a Child Life Specialist. It became harder and harder to write and I became more active on Twitter and Instagram and have made so many new connections through those platforms.

I have debated keeping vs deleting my blog as it doesn’t serve the same purpose for me anymore. However I continue to receive messages from students asking for advice, saying that they found me through this blog…so for now it will stay.

I decided that I will keep this blog, but only as a way to archive and remind me of the challenges I faced in getting to where I am today. That said, I am no where near being the Child Life Specialist that I want to be, but I know I have made great strides and I have learned so much.

If you are interested in continuing to follow my professional journey, I encourage you to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest – all at @ChildLifeAlexx.

For those that have followed along up until now, I thank you, and to those who have just arrived, welcome!

I wish you all nothing but success in whatever path you have chosen.

Alexx