good girl

today i had an "integrity interview" with the larimer county sherrif's department. i'm trying to volunteer with their victim's response team, basically in cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, or any catastrophic event (such as the tornadoes in Windsor, CO last May), I would respond to assist the victims...ie make sure they know their rights, provide emotional assistance, help them get resources, etc. it is a volunteer postition so there is no compensation other than the gratification you get from helping someone.

anyway, the interview was a series of questions regarding my integrity...moreover they wanted to know how often and to what degree and in what capacity I had been involved with the law. have you ever had a moving violation? yes. have you ever been in an accident? yes. have you ever done drugs? no. have you ever bought/sold drugs or been convicted of such crimes? no. have you ever been fired or asked to leave a job? no. have you ever been reprimanded on the job? yes (long story that involves facebooking and myspacing at work.) have you ever had a government issued id/pass revoked? no. do you consume alcoholic beverages? how often would you say you've been intoxicated in the last year? and so on and so on.

the thing is...it was the first time in my life i was worried that being such a 'good girl' was going to make me miss out on an opportunity! before we started the lady interviewing me prepped me by saying that she wanted to know the truth even if it was something embarrassing for me in my past or something that i'm not proud of, b/c those experiences make us who we are and often times aid us in picking up on things in the field that we otherwise would not pick up on. she's exactly right too. people who have either done drugs or been around that environment will be more likely to pick up on the signs of someone who's doing drugs or if something is going down...whereas I'm pretty naive to that stuff b/c i've never been around it (or if I have, I wasn't aware!). at a young age it was instilled in me to be on the right side of the law (having a father who was a detective doesn't leave room for much else!)...so for the most part that's been my standard. i know how to approach things from an intellecutal standpoint, based on my education and training...but nothing compares to life experience.

i expressed this concern to her during the interview, and she said not to worry...they have people with all types of life experience. i was also worried that she wouldn't believe a lot of my answers...so i made sure to let her know she can feel free to check my motor vehicle record and she informed me that a polygraph may be a part of the procedure as far as getting "hired." so we'll see. for the time being though, i passed the first round, and should be hearing from someone soon for the next step. guess the good girl thing payed off after all.