Personal Reflection : My Personal Experience

People live their lives with many transitions, good or bad they provide us with experiences and knowledge. The life experiences we endure provide insight and wisdom to share with others. In life we are continuously looking for fulfilling experiences such as happiness, success, love or contentment. The thing people tend to forget is that these experiences that bring happiness is a basic mood or emotion not a purpose or an endpoint. Reflection provides self-awareness by improving oneself can present a sense of purpose that provides direction to how we live our life. There are moments of reflection that focus on the

Although many details of my career plan may differ throughout the process by taking place in a different order, they are thrived for each all the same. The plan for my career includes nothing more, but one purpose, by helping others and flourishing to make a difference. To be successful with anything, taking the risk of proving my ambition is inevitable. Starting off first gaining experience in the field of nonprofits, learning the development process will help with long term goals in the nonprofit industry.

As a result of the traumatic injuries which I sustained on December 4, 2014, while working as a police officer and on duty, I am unable to perform my duties as a police officer in a safe and effective manner, without jeopardizing the safety of myself, my coworkers, as well as the public’s, which I took an oath to serve and protect.

During Summer 2014, I took my first college course “Math 10: Elementary Algebra” also known as remedial math. However, ever since I can remember, I have always liked math and this seems to contradict how I started my college career. My interest in math goes back to second grade when I received a 100 on my report card. In Bangladesh, grades are believed to reflect one’s identity, so I took a greater interest in the subject thereafter. After moving to New York, I continued to enjoy the subject though the language barrier prevented me from fully understanding the “universal language.” My passion for math waned, yet never fully extinguished, until eleventh grade when I took geometry. I was fortunate to have a teacher who made the class more enjoyable than any math I have experienced before. It was then I entertained the idea of becoming a high school math teacher in the future.

Being a human comes with inherent values, beliefs, and identities that both are a part of one’s hardwiring and develop over time. These core components of the human existence shape and influence every interaction and experience one may have throughout their life. In this way, I am no different from any other person. The course of my life has hinged on these abstract concepts of self. Further, my fundamental values, beliefs, and identities will impact the way I interact with clients and systems in my role as a social worker. To understand these, one must first understand my background and upbringing.

As I reread every piece of literature we have gone over, Connecticut, pine trees in back was the piece that I believed had a tone and genre that I could replicate into my own words. I felt that piece was the best way for me to connect with my past and truly talk about it with reflection as a maturing adult. This style of writing allowed me to open up about many of the events in my past and truly speak out in ways that I would never even think about doing. Having a very accepting environment in class with close to no judgement also helped me know that my expressions and truths will go as serious matters instead of ways to critique my past. Connecticut, pine trees in back was without a doubt the best piece of literature for me to openly express my feelings about past impactful events.

I felt like I lost my identity. My goals and my endeavors all started when I wanted to become an orientation leader for UWB in 2016. Having passed the written and group interview phase. I had a goal to leave no student feel like they were excluded, I was ecstatic that I was able to showcase my commitment to new incoming students while providing genuine care. The day of my individual interview struck me, I nervously walked in that day with an unfortunate outbreak of eczema. Embarrassed, I looked away while talking, pouring my heart into my words but not using my brain. A few days later I got a letter saying I didn’t get the job. My inexperience, shyness and lack of confidence were like shackles around my feet, reminding me of how powerless I was. After many failed attempts to get a job due to my lack of experience, the stability of my life started deteriorating. In the winter of 2016 my girlfriend cheated on me,only to cheat again after I had forgiven her. Close family members passed away and friends ended their lives too short. I didn’t have anyone to talk about my problems with, and my parents still expected me to be the perfect student. overwhelmed with pressure, grief, disappointment, and anger, I skipped classes thinking that there was no point, causing my grades to plummet, and my motivations and self-interest to slip away.

Jenny Moon (2004) states in her paper, A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice; reflective writing can be classed as ‘cognitive housekeeping’, or a ‘sorting out, clarifying process’. It’s useful to reflect on my first trimester at Swinburne Online, to clarify my newly learned skills and attributes in preparation for the rest of my degree.

1. Empathy with students and the struggles they may experience in specific units of study and/or their transition to university study

My work ethic and my ability to fulfill my commitments shows how much of a dedicated and hard-working person I am, in terms of achieving my goals. Academically, I have been set on a course of facing on challenges to overcome. Since childhood, I have been placed in the Gifted and Talented program where my peers and I took advanced and honors courses, in which we would focus on rigorous and tough tasks; due to my effort, I was consistently one of the top students in my classes. However, when I entered Bronx Science, I realized that I would have to put even more effort in order to stay on top of all my classes and continue to do well. Sophomore had hit me hard, taking two AP classes, one honors, and one biology research class, but receiving relatively well grades by the end of both semesters had shown that I worked hard throughout all year in order to succeed and achieve my goals of being exceptional in my academic career. My extracurricular activities additionally demonstrate my determination, work ethic, and ability to fulfill commitments. Starting in June 2015, I worked as an intern at the Jackson Heights branch of Khan’s Tutorial, a medium-sized tutoring and mentorship academy. I initially planned to only intern for the summer, in which I would aid instructors, grade papers and homework, and do other simple administrative duties. However, I decided to continue interning past the summer because I was determined to continue working and I enjoyed the work environment at Khan’s

As I began looking for a seat on the crowded bus, filled with individuals in bright red shirts my hands shook and I stared down an aisle of opportunities with my eyes wide. I asked myself, how I could be a friend to individuals, whom at first glance may seem very different from me. Most importantly, I asked how I can help. The moment I asked myself this question, my life was forever changed. I knew this was going to be a big day for me, but I had no idea that a Saturday that seemed otherwise unordinary would be the first day of the rest of my life. This Saturday was my first day volunteering with Camp A.N.C.H.O.R. (Assisting the Needs of Citizens with Handicaps through Organized Recreation). The persons I worked with during my time at A.N.C.H.O.R. led me to understand many of the issues people with many different types of disabilities face every single day. I heard about some of the problems my favorite campers were dealing with and I was furious. So, I took that anger and turned it into a passion for change. That passion has since sent me on a journey exploring social justice issues. During this time I realized that through the law I can help people from all walks of life and fight discriminatory practices that leave many groups underrepresented.

Every individual’s life – and background – is unique. It is this experience unique to each of us that forms our views of the world. I am incredibly fortunate to have had the upbringing I did. Being a 19-year-old female raised on a ranch in the middle of nowhere with middle-level income, I have been exposed to the most basic of life concepts like the value of hard work, as well as the more complicated concepts like the invaluable interpersonal and interspecies relationships present in the ranching lifestyle. I learned most of my life lessons in a barn, out in a hay field, on the back of a horse, under the truck, or in the show ring. As a result, my political views at least somewhat reflect those of the people around which I was raised, giving me a unique political socialization.

When you understand your emotions, you can keep them in check. When you know your weakness and strengths, it helps to keep you emotionally healthy. During this week, I have learned many new and interesting ideas like how to be in check, how to recognize feelings in a social situation and how I compare with my family and friends when it comes to my Emotional Intelegance.

From the test, I realized I have a strong personality in agreeableness and sociability. Before the test, I did not realize that I had this strength and, therefore, it was underutilized. The sociability aspect will create better working relations with fellow students during the class group discussion and with the coworker, this will be extended in the future career. Additionally, I realized I have low emotional stability. This means I handle the situation based on the emotion and I am easily overpowered by emotion when making decisions (Phillipy, 2010).

“Know who you are, and be it. Know what you want, and go out and get it!”