My Life Of Becoming A Social Worker

On many levels, I secretly desire to be this professional social worker that has experienced many different realms of social work practice. As I maneuver through my first couple days of field, many questions run through my mind as to what’s to be expected of a master’s level social work. Although, I’ve only had the pleasure of working children and families as a social worker; it has broaden my desire to want to know more.

The decision to pursue my education in social work at Dalhousie University was not an easy one. While I was growing up, my career choice changed all of them time, but I always knew that I wanted to do something fulfilling, in which I could “help” and support people. My mom was a nurse and always loved helping people; I always figured I would follow in her footsteps, however I learned at an early age that sciences do not come easy to me. Unfortunately, my mom lost her battle to breast cancer when I was eight years old, so I hope that by me helping people socially, rather than medically like she did, will continue her legacy.

Choosing to pursue this education to become a Social Service Worker has been a life long passion; living a so called “roller coaster” of a life and being subjected to many things, enjoyable and regretful has helped me in many ways to comprehend what it is to truly have human empathy and compassion for others. A veteran at life in its lowest and highest forms, and feeling completely alone and hopeless at times; being subjected to sexual and physical abuse, seeing what alcohol and drugs do to families, how poverty effects children and loved ones. Fortunately there were a few individuals that reached out, bring me up out of the darkness. This is something that I feel in my heart that needs to be given back, for me to provide someone the empowerment that others have given me, to show that there is hope and give reason to keep going, individuals who feel desperate, help to raise their chances, dreams and the basic needs of life. Having the knowledge of education to give these resources for expert referrals to assist people in desperate times, so they can live the life that is deserving and fulfilling to them, therefore this is my ultimate goal!

From an early age, I have accompanied my mother as she lent a listening ear to sex workers, feed the homeless, and visited the elderly in nursing homes; these moments instilled in me a strong desire to help others. Throughout my undergraduate years, I debated whether I would help others on a macro level, by studying economics, or an individual level, by studying psychology. Although both of these fields increased my awareness of systematic and personal issues which kept people oppressed, neither focused on alleviating the conditions of those most in need. After researching several fields, social work appealed most to me because it’s a practical evidence-based profession focused on helping others rediscover their strengths.

At the age of nine my mother would leave me and my two little sisters at home to go clean these offices in plants at Boardman, Oregon. She would only work Saturday morning for five to six hours. Alone with two little girls at a young age I had to learn to cook clean and take responsibility of them. My mother had four jobs at the time since she was recently separated and left with a number of medical bills and credit card bills to pay since my father did not want to help take part of our family anymore. My mother jobs were that she was a social worker Mondays through Fridays, she cleaned a bank two nights a week for two and a half hours, cleaning countless offices, and lastly she was a full-time mother.

Submit an essay of 3 to 5 typed pages explaining: 1) Why he/she wants to be a social worker Being a social worker for some people is just a job. Although this will help me make a living, this is not why I am in the field of social work. I was in foster care as a child and I was faced with many challenges that I had to overcome. I was physically, mentally, and sexually abused as a child and it left a mark as I continued to grow. Although this may not sound like a good thing, I was able to be surrounded by many people who were there to help me along the way, social workers.

Serving in the military is an honorable career, but after seven years I knew it was time for a change. My desire to become a social worker grew in my last years of service when I was introduced to a military clinical social worker. She opened my eyes to the different opportunities I could pursue by becoming a social work. From working with children, families or the elderly there are many avenues to choose, but I decided to specialize in supporting veterans transitioning back to civilian life. Being a veteran myself I know first hand the struggles of reintegration.

This essay will look reflectively over my first year as a student social worker and will describe my personal and professional development over this time. I will also reflect upon the communication skills required in relationship based practice, as well as considering emotional resilience and its importance with service users and other professionals.

As a young girl, I watched about three different social workers come to my house for my older sister. Each social worker took a different approach and had a different effect on my family. Although the social workers were there for my sister, everything that was done included my family as a whole. As I was watching each social worker, I realized some of the pros and cons of the career and I became interested. At that time, I was unsure of what I wanted to become once graduating from high school. The only thing I was sure about was that I wanted to help others and I liked children. I knew my stomach was too weak to become a nurse or doctor, so I had to think of other options. By watching these social workers, it helped to make my decision. No

In human services there are many jobs that someone can work that uses their knowledge or skills. I never wanted to be a social worker, and in college had to change my major my junior year due to unforeseen circumstances. During that time I was stressed and didn’t know what to do, so I decided to major in psychology and become a social worker to help those who have disabilities. I have had many different experiences that helped me determine what I wanted to do when I graduated.

Social work has been my major since childhood. Throughout my life I have persevered against poverty, discrimination, domestic violence, substance abuse and mental health barriers. Due to my experience with these issues, the art of learning grew into a passion and priority. By focusing on my education, I established my identity apart from the status quo of my background and became the first woman in my family to attend college. Despite enrolling without a career path to follow, I was determined to explore for a major linked by science, integrity and compassion. Through the social work curriculum, my intellectual needs were met. The interactive preparation and self-care integral to social work filled the gaps that remained in my education and personal development by nourishing seeds of assertive communication, healthy boundaries and mindfulness; the benefits of counseling and journaling underlined in this profession have especially enriched my journey to becoming an advocate. In addition to this newfound peace, social work also spoke to my knowledge as a member of many vulnerable populations and expanded my ability to work with a diverse clientele. From the psychosocial and field placement components of this major, I discovered my deep rooted ambition to empower the mental health community in the same manner that social work has empowered me.

Things that make me happy are helping others that are in need. I enjoy bringing a smile to people’s face that gets new things like a new blanket, shirts, a hat or a home-cooked meal. I am the very helpful person for the needy. I go to the homeless shelter to help the needy by serving meals and listen to their needs and how they have dreams to get off the streets permanently.

For several years now, I have felt drawn to support and strengthen the communities similar to my own. From an early age I witnessed how social workers can help those struggling to find the resources they need to foster change. Although it took sometime to trace my passion for helping those in need, upon reflection, I am able to clearly see a pattern of people, agencies and institutions that provide the additional support I need to be successful. Understanding these patterns has not only impacted my experience, but also serves as the primary reason I have chosen to pursue a career in social work.

A social worker has a very important job. Social workers help children and families in need of food, homes, and health care. They help children have a brighter future. There are many different types of social work. There are mental health, child and family, elementary, and high school social workers.

I was in grade 10 when I thought of becoming a social worker. As social worker practitioner the fields that interest me to work in is domestic violence and child abuse because I want to make change to the society. Also Mahatma Gandhi was my major inspiration through this quote “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. Than an idea came to me, why not involve my contribution to the wide variety of communities. My communication with school counsellors and social workers has impacted my choice of desiring to study social work. I realised that if I have had a chance of seeing a social worker when I was young, things would have been much easier and less stressful. I want to provide opportunities that I did not encounter to other people. This essay will reflect my past experience, motivation and why I want to be a social worker, values, beliefs and theory of practice.