Personal Reflection

This reflection will discuss personal diffidence and how it has influenced my academic studies, including my practice within placement settings. Gibbs reflective cycle (Gibbs, 1998) has been utilised as it illustrates a clear structure for the process of reflection. To conclude this reflection will draw together the themes which have emerged and highlight a clear action for future learning that will be used in order to enhance my future practice.

When I arrived at the agency, the room was crowded and many people were waiting for their turned to be served at one of the several tables. The person that I interviewed for this assignment was Emily Hampshire, the coordinator of one of a program called 180. Emily has been with the agency for over a year and is currently the coordinator of the agency’s newest program. This program is a gang prevention and intervention program and was created for the local at-risk youth in an effort to prevent gang related crimes and help youth “change their life around”, as Emily mentioned. This program was created in collaboration with the local Police Department and the Mount Diablo Unified School District and in

When I first enrolled in the class, I didn’t know what was to be expected of me. I was scared the first time I logged onto the computer to see what the course entailed. Then, things changed and I was comfortable with my new lifestyle of doing work on the computer. I began by making myself a schedule with things that I wanted to accomplish each and every day. As I continued to do this and the end of the course started to become visible I started to grow more and more comfortable. I am happy with how everything has gone throughout this semester. I have learned a lot of things this year, as well as being refreshed with things that I obviously struggled with. This course developed me into a better writer; educated me on how to begin the

After doing half of my intern at Living Water and taking two counseling classes at Trinity International University, I realize I do not have the gift for counseling. There are some skills that I do not have to make counseling a vocation. One of the skills is sympathy. I find myself praying for God’s judgement on people rather than their repentance. I have little tolerance for people conceited people. I try to keep conceited people as far away as possible, because I have a history clashing with them. If I was a counselor and I had a client that tried to sue me or do me any harm, any sympathy for the person would just go out the window in an instant.

As I was reading this book, I kept having awe moments because I have either seen the material covered in real time or have thought about it. Out of the five career strategy components, the two that stood out for me were extending experiences and networking/connecting. Reflecting on my educational and professional career, these two themes have been the most relevant.

Since early on in life, numerous individuals have been hearing people talk about college. Parents usually encourage their children to go to college, get a degree, get engaged on campus, be someone great in life and be important in the society. Hearing people talk about their college experience can push someone to go there and see what is there and how is that going to improve himself/herself. When actually going there, then come the experiences and the hard work and experiences come along in every aspect, such as academic, career, and personal facets of someone’s life.

This unit, as well as the others, have been an opportunity to grow and to learn and to discover myself in areas that I had not considered in the past. It is causing me to look within myself and to bring out abilities that had not been tapped for years. The first was the desire to move to level two in the CPE program. The realization that the status quo was not adequate. So the additional effort that was necessary to do so has to be applied. Hearing the words for my supervisor when she said if you had not change the way you were doing things we would be having a different conversation. Admittedly I did not want that different discussion. Moreover, the look that she gave with that smile in her head turned to the side I knew we would not have been good. I do not want that look anymore, so I will make sure there is no reason to receive that look. I discovered that this exchange was necessary for me to learn a valuable lesson, that lesson was if we students are willing to put in the work I will supervisor will put the work in to help us/me.

The first four chapters reading were really helpful to understand more about yourself, self-worth, your personality type, your circle control, also help you understand about how people that you interact with react in a positive or negative way, and how to deal with different type of behaviors or personalities. I like all the truth of 1 to 4, but I picked truth #2, which explained about your circle control that contains 4-P personality style, specific self-worth, and external support system. Working with older people can be challenging because different residents/clients or staff may have different personalities and sometimes it is hard to approach them without knowing them or their personalities. However, the longer you work with them, the more you will be able to identify their personalities and able to approach them without a problem.

I am Samantha pressdee and I will self assess myself for this quarter. I will discuss my attendance, my grade,work ethic and my overall attitude in this class.

During my studies with the University of Oklahoma, my selected area of focus was counseling. In addition to selecting many courses that focused on theoretical approaches to counseling, I also completed the graduate certificate “Helping Skills in Human Relations”.

I slept through the cry and pain and woke up with joy knowing I would be alright when I receive the Doctor’s report. The genesis of my book initiated in the 7th grade, a kidney condition that could possibly end my life instead gave me life. I grew up in church, however, I did not value nor understand the rituals. As I matured, I adapted a unique personality. I built walls to prevent hurt. In secret, I cared and loved, yet I thought speaking hateful and bitter words would showcase my boldness; I associate boldness with aggression. The struggles I faced, included me, myself and I against the world because I did not want to worry my parents. In Addition, I humbled myself and went before the Lord in prayer, promising that I would change. A few weeks later, I received my healing and continued leaving in ungratefulness and doubt. A shift occurred when I joined Generation Next (bible club) at North Miami Beach Senior High school. I battled depression once again. For the first time I enjoyed school because I kept my mind occupied with work. Unexpectedly, walking into bible club feeling hopeless, a guest speaker spoke about how our communication with God required honesty even though He knows it all. That evening at home, while opening my bible I said these words; “Lord if you see my ache whatever I lay my figures upon will filled this voided”. I landed on psalm 29: 11: “The Lord give strength to his people and bless them with peace.” Since that day, I decided to walk with Christ and

My favorite high school English teacher once said, “You have to want to be a better writer. I can’t make you a better writer without at least some effort on your part guys.” The implied lesson in this quote, about writing and effort, is something I remembered throughout high school and coming into college. In English 109H, I wanted to understand how to transition my writing to a meet a college level. Through in-class peer-editing exercises and identifying and improving problems consistently identified in my writing, I was able to improve my understanding and performance in the course goals of Conventions and Critical Thinking and Composing. However, I still need work on wording changes within Reflection and Revision.

Last semester in one of my classes, I was required to write a letter between me and God. I don’t remember what the exact letter says, but I do remember telling him that I make a lot of mistakes and I struggle with issues that Christians should not be dealing with. I told God that I am not sure that I am the type of Christian that others should look to be. Although I knew the Word, I prayed often and never missed church, I still felt a void on the inside of me. I often compare myself to Hannah. I felt a barrenness on the inside of me and did not know how to fill it. On top of the spiritual emptiness I felt, I also had to deal with emotional stress. When I first started attending Regent University, I had several fears that tried to prevent me from proceeding. First, I feared my status as a double minority in a field that is predominantly male would prevent many doors from being open to me regardless of my academic ability. Secondly, I feared having a background in engineering and not biblical studies would put me at a great disadvantage in my classes regardless of my knowledge of the Bible. Whenever someone asked me a question, I would have an answer but I was not sure if i gave the right answer because I was never licensed as a minister as a pastor. My role within the church was a server. I cooked, I cleaned, I played with the children, I visited people, I hugged people, I sewed and I loved working with my hands. In fact, I was the one who usually served the pastors and I

This MPX years has been very valuable to me as a learner. This year, I have greatly expanded my knowledge and skills as a learner. My Success can be observed in my POL and past projects. I would also like to explain MPX was the right choice for me.

English Comp I has taught me a great deal and has also helped me improve on some writing skills that I never really payed attention too as I began my writing career in middle school. I have improved in a big way in several subjects that can impact a person’s writing in a dramatic way. Evidence from three of my EN113 papers this semester provide evidence that suggest that I have succeeded in improving on my organizational skills, identifying grammar issues, and elaborating and describing events in more detail. Reviewing my previous papers, I have realized that I am still working on improving my MLA format.