Jenifer Mick:
CLASS OF 1988
Decatur High SchoolClass of 1988
Federal way, WA
Jenifer's Story
So, thirty years. Yikes, I'm old. Never in a million years could I have guessed all I've done. I spent my high school years with a total hodgepodge of friends from all social groups (preps, band geeks, academics, stoners, etc) but still stayed under the radar. Pretty shy, even drama didn't fix that. Kind of got lost after high school. I had spent those three years anxious to be an "adult." I really regret not enjoying high school more but I loved working and making money. I really was not into going to college, high school bored me intellectually so I didn't even try. I thought college would be the same. So I worked, moved out right after high school, hung out with an older crowd. Then I took a good look at that older crowd after about eight months and figured out they were going no where and would be working dead end jobs their entire lives. I wanted something more. Still not ready for college. So I joined the Army. I wanted to be a cop since ninth grade so being an MP seemed to fit. Learned alot during those four years. How to shoot an M16, .45, 9mm, .38, 50 cal, etc. Learned I can not throw a grenade well at all. I can't swing on a rope either. But I loved the challenge. Being the fastest at dismantling an M60 in the entire company is cool but how does that lead to a job? I did get to travel all over Europe which was great. I was so naive and so sheltered that the challenges I faced as a woman in the military was like a slap in the face. Faced some pretty crappy harassment. But it didn't stop me. It did make me very cynical and perhaps overly assertive. There are worse things. I did learn that college was what I wanted to do. So, I turned down an offer to join the Criminal Investigations Division (think NCIS but for the Army) and went to college. Worked full time for the first two years at Green River and realized my love of psychology. Took the last two years to enjoy the college experience, double majored and only worked part-time occasionally and ran up my student loans which was okay. Loved it. I broke up with my fiancee who I had met in the Army when I went to CWU. I almost made the same mistake I had earlier. He was going no where. Hated what he was doing but had no ambition to do anything to change it. I didn't care if he wanted to be a professional garbage sorter if that is what he loved. He had a hell of an arm on him and could draw crowds at the fair by pitching just as accurately and fast as the pros but didn't want to make the effort or have the experience of trying out for a pro team. So, after CWU I went to graduate school. My second big mistake in life (the first being working too much in HS). I should have stayed at CWU where I had a great apartment near campus, the professors liked me, I was the only statistics tutor for the en...Expand for more
tire university, etc. But I went all the way to Clarksville, Tennessee where I learned that CWU was such a great school that I was way beyond my fellow students and got bored pretty quickly. A year in and doubled my debt while working full time and I said to hell with it. It helped that I had to quit my first professional job as a juvenile probation officer. Crooked judge (and he has since been thrown off the bench) who I dared speak out against and got rewarded with a threat of being tossed in jail for contempt. Besides, I was dating what I thought was my forever guy. So I moved to Atlanta which is a really cool city. I like Georgia as a whole. Worked as a crisis counselor, as a pretrial officer. But I wanted to get back to Washington and when my relationship ended I left. My parents had moved to Port Orchard so I followed. Bought my first house, a cute 1938 craftsman. Worked as a school counselor, DV advocate, mental health casemanager, Director of Social Work at a nursing home, a short stint as a 911 operator on Bangor Naval Base, Director of Activities at an assisted living, tried to leave social work to run a HR department but that ended up with more drama than any other position I had had, and left to become a Certified Professional Guardian. I have been doing that for nine years. I also do trustee, case management, DPOA, and court investigator (GAL) work. Its stressful but I am good at it. I help alot of people who would have alot worse lives if not for me. Not everyone can say they have improved peoples lives but I can and I find it fulfilling. It might cause me an ulcer someday but for now I enjoy it. I also am a Master Gardener and volunteer doing different things for them and I volunteer at a wild feline advocacy center in Mason County. I love cougars but they also have linx, a panther, tigers, bobcats and many others. They even have the serval of a member of Alice in Chains who decided it was not getting enough attention. I did foster care for awhile but decided I didn't want my own kids. I have four cool nieces and recently became a great aunt. I have had to put up some strong boundaries with my parents due to some unhealthy behavior on their parts but I had a pretty great childhood so while I don't have much of a relationship with them now, I still have some good memories. And then there is my husband. I always wanted to be married but I didn't want to half ass it. I have had five marriage proposals in my life, some more serious than others but the last one was the right one. He completes me :) And he farts alot. You take the good with the bad. You have to have a sense of humor, especially since the election of 2016. I have three cats, two dogs, and a rabbit and that helps keep me sane. Who knows where the next thirty years will take me.
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