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

When our lives become hectic, we often don’t find enough time to stop and think. We work, we study, we move on with our daily lives. However, sometimes it’s nice to actually stop and observe ourselves from a different perspective, even if it’s only for a few minutes a week. This course, l believe, has given me the opportunity to sit down and actually think about my own personal experiences and what it meant to me. The fact that l was able to connect the concept of our chapters with my own personal example and experience, had actually helped me gather more knowledge on the topic. If there was one positive thing that l can take away from this course, it’s that it helped me gain more self-awareness. This course gave me the opportunity to talk

At the beginning of the semester, I set four goals: managing time wisely, enhancing my self-learning ability, improving my listening and adapting to reading academic journals. Now, I have already achieved all of my goals via the three main course components (Focused Research and Writing, Seminars and GIS).

During my first year of high school, I was held to a higher standard, than my previous

that I felt the calling to get my degree. I began to lean on my faith and the knowledge that the

This week at the Jasper County Health Department, I had a variety of tasks. Due to session cancellations, the first couple hours I was at the clinic, I helped with filing patient files as well as working at the front desk to check in clients and schedule future appointments. I learned a large amount of interesting information just by looking at patients files. A lot of information goes into each file and I was surprised and lucky to have the chance to view these files and learn from them. Patients varied from DUI’s to mental illness. As I spent the first few hours of the day up front working with the women up there, I learned a lot about the billing systems. I had not planned to learn so much about how they charge and when they can charge and when they cannot. I learned the difference between insurance, Medicaid and self-pay. One of the secretaries informed me that they have a crisis counselor always on call. If a client calls in and is talking suicidal the on call counselor will get them help. From talking with her, I learned that in these kinds of cases, clients cannot be charged any fee. I was never aware of this for these situations.

The reflection I see in the mirror tells me I appear the same as I did in high school. Same baby face. Same acne. Same person. I feel unchanged in my appearance, and I have carried that belief to other spheres in my life. Yet, looking back to how I accomplished work in high school, I can see the noticeable difference in the amount of time I spend on my work now compared to then. In addition, I entered Taylor not knowing a single soul. While I was not exactly Miss Popular in high school, I did have a good group of friends, who all embarked on their own journeys after graduation. Creating those friendships took time and effort, and I lost them in a matter of a few days of going off to school. So, I had to begin from scratch with friends when I started classes, and it has not been without trials and tribulations, like most experiences have been like at college so far.

When it comes to a person’s characteristics, preferences, and beliefs it can be hard to make the distinction between the three. Not only that, but when asked a simple question: “What are some of your defining characteristics?” It’s so easy to just draw a blank. It may not even be that you don’t want to brag, it’s hard to talk about things like that on the spot. Almost as if you were asked, “What’s your favorite movie and you’ve suddenly forgotten every movie you’ve ever seen. In other words, self reflection is difficult. Namely, making a distinction between the different aspects that make up who you are as a person.

I found this exercise very helpful, reading the scores form each of the sections has given me a lot of insight into what I am good at, and what I can improve on in my field. I scored high in the adapting practice and in linguistics competence and health and health care disparities. To me, this shows me that I am good at communicating effectively in terms of making sure clients understand what options they have and how we can help them find the best decision which will benefit them the most. The results indicated that “Items contained in this…adapting such care to individual patients in the practice environment.” (National Center for Cultural Competence, 2). I have just recently experienced something similar to this, and I can see that even though I am at an internship, I can still see myself taking these things into my everyday life.

An idea that makes me excited about learning is vulnerability. We experience fear and shame, when we don’t have a sense of belonging. However, this helps us learn from our experiences, change, and develop as stronger people. It is not others who put us down, but rather ourselves by constantly thinking we’re not fit to complete a certain task. I remember that after I got kicked out of my house due to family strife and started living with roomers, I felt embarrassed. Questions constantly hoovered my mind. What would happen if my friends wanted to come over? What kind of household must they think that I grew up in as my own family members to betrayed me? Would they even think that I am even of their standard? From this point onward, this made me think about how the human brain works in general. Why do we care about what others think of us? Why are we wired to want to feel accepted? What causes us to cry or smile? How are our emotions processed? How are other individual's actions and words so powerful that they bring forth an immediate reaction on our side? Biology teaches us about complex human body functions, how life came to be beginning from the origins and evolved over these years through multiple stages of growth, and how organisms function and interact with each other. That's why I want to major in biology, it allows me to gain the answers to all my questions.

In the Organizational Behavior class (BMAL 500), I took a personality test online and found out that my personality type is Extravert- Sensing- Thinking- Judging (ESTJ), although I had a marginal preference of extraversion over introversion. Basically in certain situations I can be either an extravert or introvert. I like structure and am very organized. I tend to cope pretty well with the stressors of life and do not allow stress to bog me down. My supervisor would describe me as dependable.

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

Introduction: Transitioning from high school to university is a big adjustment for many students. To help with this change, the book “Becoming a Master Student” provides students with concepts that can help them become more successful in their university career. This reflection will outline some of the articles that BMS has that enhances the student experiences not only academically, but also personally.