Social Work: A Definition

What, exactly is it that I’m doing here? The New Oxford American Dictionary defines it as “work carried out by trained personnel with the aim of alleviating the conditions of those in need of help or welfare”. Now, I am neither trained nor am I alleviating any conditions, at least not if you ask my students who will more likely call my work an intricate form of torture. The work aspect could also be called into doubt, seeing I’ve so far read close to 40 books, seen numerous films and visited at least five previously unknown cities.
But. And there is a but. Spending the equivalent of a month’s salary in the shop next door is bound to help the local economy (the moral implications shall be considered elsewhere). And (of this one I am especially proud), helping a person who has not seen one before use an escalator can be a very rewarding and satisfying experience.
As always, I do not wish to deride the practice of social work in general. Yet sometimes, a little criticism is not so bad.