Reflection Paper

Process recordings have been very helpful in allowing me to see my strengths and areas that need improvement. It allows for me to check if I am using my competencies correctly and applying all the skills I have been thought. They also allow for feedback from my field supervisor so that I ensure the best services for my clients. I gain a better understanding of what I need to change about my approach and how to develop proper treatment goals with my clients. I get to put the knowledge I gained in all my classes to help a better understanding of the role of a social worker.

I don’t really know when exactly I noticed that I was “different” but, about 8th grade. My education started in pre-kindergarten where showed my first signs of emotional, social, and communication disabilities, however it was just chalked up to being a little slow. In elementary school teachers and students verbally, socially, and physically bullied me. Students both my age and older would use “dodgeball to physically attack me. I was often made fun of for being slow or “weird” and the teachers themselves would often leave me out of class and would use me as an example of what not to be like. Finally, after being told by my principle in front of my parents that I was “never going to amount to anything” it was right about then when I was officially diagnosed with Autism. After that I left the elementary school and I went to three other schools where I could get help from teachers that were prepared to help. In some of the schools I was still bullied though not as horrible and others were perfectly fine, but I not still didn’t receive the help that I needed to become motivated and overcome “scars” left behind. During my early education mother helped me communicate a phrase that I felt perfectly describe how I felt “Spiraling down in a world that secluded those who were different”. After going to 6th grade I finally meet people who felt the same way as I did, however it was short lived as junior high came around my mom decided I should be home schooled. After a year and half

We all know that there is never that one person that is perfect in life, but we always believe that some people are just born perfect. For example, a person that will never get mad and have patience for everything, or a person that is attractive, or a person who has the most improved educational skills. In contrast, on my daily routines, I take out my anger on every little obstacle that gets in my way. I do not bother to take a step on exercising and procrastinate on schoolwork. This has been a routine in my life that I know I have to stop and do something to change it, but I just leave it aside and ignore it as if it everything was okay. Now that I have been reading The Habit and have been assigned to do a 30-day challenge, I have decided to form goals for myself. I had enough with these problems, and I am willing to create a better lifestyle by being a calmer person, living a healthier lifestyle, and being a better student.

I am a Michigan State University transferred sophomore student at WCCCD majoring in Pre-Nursing. I still have my whole life to go. I am 19 years old so, I have a lot to live and go through in life. I am through the adolescent age of becoming a young adult into an official adult.

The purpose of this project was to provide teacher candidates, such as myself, with an opportunity to gain experience in a preschool/pre kindergarten environment. I was given the opportunity to collaborate with the lead teacher in a pre-k classroom to learn about the daily classroom routines. I partnered with a child to implement in-class and out-of-class activities. Through implementation of these activities, I was given the opportunity to collaborate with the child, her mom, and the teacher to come up with age appropriate activities that interested my student. I completed my fieldwork at Kindercare Learning Center in Richfield, OH. I have worked at Kindercare for over a year and I was extremely excited to see what I was able to learn by doing my field work at my place of employment and learn more about the incredible child care center at which I am lucky to work. This location of Kindercare recently earned a 5 star rating from Step Up To Quality. The teacher in which I shadowed this semester was Ms. Jackie. Ms. Jackie has been teaching at Kindercare for a little over one year. She attended Bowling Green University, studying middle level education. She left school prior to graduation as she realized she did not want to teach middle school. Shortly after leaving Bowling Green, she received a job at Kindercare. She initially was hired as the preschool teacher working with the three year olds, but after about 6 months, she moved up to being the pre-k classroom lead teacher.

Matthew 22:37 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Mark Noll emphasizes that Evangelical Christians are not loving God with their minds. Noll shares that if Christians do not become well-informed intellectuals, they will not be able to lead others to Christ. When I reflect on my religious upbringing, I realize how much truth I accepted came from humans, and not from scripture. When people challenged some of my beliefs, I was not able to support myself, because I accepted what I heard as truth. I am thankful that God has showed me the importance of wisdom in my faith.

I have learned many aphorisms, or lessons, throughout my life so far. My family, friends, teachers, and pretty much everyone has taught me something in one way or another. These lessons usually come through in a change in my life. One change important to me was getting a job. This job has given me a positive learning experience (for the most part) and an education of working with others. Well, here’s what I know about going to work.

I’m a highly academically driven student and have several, quite lofty, goals for my time here at Texas A&M. I want to maintain a 4.0 GPA, or at least a minimum of a 3.5 in order to maintain my Cornerstone Honors status. My dream, and biggest goal, is to intern for a congressperson in Washington, D.C., and I also want to study abroad, hopefully in England.

Dive into the perils that is writing. All of us have been writing since we were young. Throughout this semester of English, I have learned how to write in APA, and I have learned how to use every detail possible to extend and expand my essays. The literacy narrative essay, research essay, and annotated bibliography have all been essays I have written this semester, and each one has been a different challenge.

I was walking down the hallway of the hospital when I heard a patient calling out for help in a familiar language. As I walked into the Russian patient’s room, I noticed a group of nurses trying to decipher her concerns. Despite their efforts, she was still crying out for help due to the language barrier hindering her communication with the nurses about her severe abdominal pain. I happily stepped in and translated between the patient, named Yekaterina, and the nurses. The genuine look of gratefulness in her eyes along with the constant “sposibo” of gratitude I received from her for doing such a simple deed was truly something I will never take for granted. Quite often we find ourselves falling into a daily routine, making it easy to lose sight of why we are doing what we love in the first place. After many months of volunteering at the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, this fortuitous instance of being in the right place at the right time reminded me of why I was at the hospital. I was there to help Yekaterina, and other patients like her in the future. I treasure this moment and this memory because it represents perhaps the first time when I stopped feeling like I was simply trying to help patients, and instead stepped into my true role as a healthcare professional making a tangible difference in the lives of people in need of healing.

I thought I knew pain; I wrong. True pain floods the encompasses a person. The anguish overwhelms every aspect of their lives. I first saw true pain in the eyes of poverty. During my seventh grade year, I had the opportunity to go on my first mission trip. The young, naive version of myself who flew into Haiti never returned, but was replaced with a new, wiser rendition who is determined to change the world.

Sitting at my corner desk wrapping up yet another conference call with a prominent energy company at the number one Inbound Marketing agency in America, I swipe the tears from my eyes before anyone else can see. I don’t want this life anymore. I shuttered as I finally verbalized what had been building up the past few years but I was always too afraid or embarrassed to say - ‘The career I worked so hard for was the biggest regret of my life.’ My immediate thought is I cannot wait to get home and wash away this day with a book. My one reprieve in a day filled with angry clients, looming deadlines and office politics is to read. “The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails” (White, T. H. The Once And Future King. William Collins, Sons, 1958). Suddenly, a puzzle piece finally shifted into place - I’d read this book more than a few times, but this time the words resonated with me differently. The printed words hadn’t changed since I’d last read them, but I had. I wanted to be happy, continue to learn and teach others how to learn as well and on that axis, my world shifted.

In my past years of education I have been involved in many classes, but I had never taken a summer class until this semester in college. In elementary school, middle, and high school, I did not take summer school either. This semester in college, it was necessary for me to catch up on my studies and attend this English class as a requirement for other classes that I also intend to take, therefore I decided to enroll in a summer class to help me catch up with the mandatory classes for my nursing degree. I have been lucky to have chosen a great class with a very helpful teacher who has taught me so much. In this course we wrote four major essays, a narrative, an argument, a report essay and an analysis. I learned many things from the essays

In my opinion, Intro to Non-Profits (PS203) was an extremely valuable class. Over the summer, I interned with a local non-profit called Shop Local Raleigh. From this internship, I had gained a basic understanding of the inner workings of a non-profit but, the course greatly expanded my knowledge on the subject. Shop Local Raleigh was understaffed and the workload for the executive director was excessive. As an intern, I took on the responsibility of many jobs and found that the organization faced some difficulties when retaining resources and funding. After taking this course, some of my unanswered questions from my summer internship were explained.

Everyone has their own way they learn best. Some will say they are visual learners, while others say they identify as an auditory leaner. Like learning styles, the same goes for the academic reading, research, and writing process. My personal practices are the result of years practicing, trying to tailor what works best for me. I have discovered the strategies that work well for me through previous experiences which have allowed me to develop my individual method for assigned text readings, research, and writing papers.