Self Reflection

To tackle my goals this semester I needed to have a clear focus. Tackling my goals this semester has made me a stronger dancer. From the start of the semester, I have wanted to work on the continuation of my goals from the previous semester. In each class I have worked on finding ways to work on my goals anyway possible. Reflecting my work from the beginning of the semester until now, I have seen myself wanting to be more dedicated to my goals each class. The goals I had for the semester helped me to progress and I continue to work on the ones I struggle with. By having a strong work ethic and clear focus I have had a chance to work on all my main goals throughout the semester: musicality, fluidity, tension, staying lifted in the core, and confidence.

This is my end of year grade 12 culminating self protariate. The project was to create two self portraits but to have them on one page. Initially, I did not expect myself to finish before school ended due to how long it took me to complete it last year. But by reflecting on what happened last year with my lack of time I was able to change my techniques up to fit the time span.

I got a 39 within UCLA Loneliness Scale on the textbook and I was surprised with my result because I did not know that my score has been this higher compared to other men scale which is average of 32. I did not feel any anxiety and fear when I took this scale in the textbook because I feel very confident with myself and relationships with other people. I always trying to respect other people during the conversations nor hanging out with them during a free time because they were always respect me as well all the time. Furthermore, I always listen to other people who needs advice because I want to help them with my experiences. Therefore, they could think that other people have hard times just like anybody else and it could happen to be anytime.

In 2013, an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged twelve or older (9.4% of the population) had used an illicit drug in the past month (NIDA, 2015). In 2016, about 3.6 million adults aged 18 or older received any substance use treatment in the past year, representing 1.5 percent of adults (SAMHSA, 2017). These numbers are not even taking into account any type of behavior addiction such as shopping, gambling, social media, etc. Strong of these numbers, as counselors we can see the importance to gain knowledge about drug and behavior addiction and its process. In order to have a better understanding of the process of change, we have been assigned to abstain from a substance or a behavior for a period of 15 weeks and to reflect about it.

Many students of all ages have issues with writing, the only way to get good at writing is to have experiance. I never paid much attention to my writing skills in high school, I just did not care about writing. This year as a freshman in college I have been struggling with writing this semester in GSW 1100. Even though I have not been doing well, I understand that writing in college is extremely important to learn and develop. This is important because most courses in college have writing in them. As the semester has progressed, I have slowly started to understand where I am with writing and where I need to improve. Revising my essays is a great way to learn from my mistakes. Although my writing is not great yet I am slowly getting there with this class. I believe I have improved my writing a great deal in several areas over the course of this semester and I feel that my portfolio shows this. I have learned to develop my thesis and make it clear, to recognise sentence boundaries errors, and to see and fix the many grammar errors in my writing.

I have been a student at the University of Texas for almost a whole semester now. I came to this school straight out of high school, not knowing what I was getting myself into. During my high school years, I was good at every subject except my writing class. Coming to UTSA, I knew I was going to struggle in my writing class, but that didn’t discourage me from not trying my best in the course. Going through the English program, I realized that I had some strengths and weaknesses in the class and it encouraged me to do better. The essays I have written for this class demonstrate that I have developed a strong thesis, organization skills, and detail; however, I still need to improve on grammar, keeping the POV, and citing.

Self-reflection is one of the most challenging aspects of writing. Rationalizing why I deserve the Top Graduate award is a humbling task, but I feel as though I can present a strong argument. Consequently, the goal of this essay is to inform the board of my journey at Park University. My selection to compete for this award has been an honor in itself, and will do my best to give you my credentials. However, before I begin, I will lay out a concise background on myself to help you understand a little about who I am.

My insights on cultures in the United States have changed quite a bit as a result of my studies this semester. I have a much greater understanding of ethnic groups, gender and sexuality issues, religions, and poverty. My new knowledge base will help me as I become more culturally competent and, therefore, more responsive to my future clients. I am anxious to incorporate my new understandings into my classroom and hopefully in a position as a school counselor.

This past semester in Modern III, I have found different things about myself in terms of shifting my movement vocabulary into something new. The somatic work in the beginning of class has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and experience something new. Imagination has been a key factor in this. Three different goals that I have been working on this past semester have been keeping my abdominals engaged, my ribs to soften always, and allowing my transitions to flow smoother. As I mentioned in my midterm self-evaluation, I believe that I have come a far way from the beginning in the semester until now.

I have been an international student at California State University Easy Bay (CSUEB) for almost four years, and during the stay I have learned far more than I expected. I came to CSUEB already deciding to be a financial analyst in the future. However, I realized that I have to meet the University Writing Skills Requirement (UWSR) before graduation. With only four years of studying in English, I have many problems in English writing. After failing the Writing Skills Test, I took an English writing class, which has taught me how to write logically and proficiently. Thus, I should pass this class and satisfy the UWSR because my collection of essays in the portfolio shows that I made a great improvement in thesis statements composition, development of ideas, and organization.

According to the Keirsey Temperament workbook, my combined values make me a guardian. My knowledge, experience, dedication, authority, and reliability are strengths that make me a great leader. I choose to manage the recycling yard, public, and staff like any great manager would. In order for me to manage efficiently, I would like to improve a few things. I find myself to be very easy going, abrupt, and shy, and have come to realize these attributes hold me back. Aside from the areas that need improvement, the effectiveness of my strengths creates a healthy and enjoyable work environment.

For the purposes of this reflective piece, I have chosen to adopt Gibbs reflective cycle. Gibbs conceptualises the reflective process as a cycle which begins and culminates in the development of an action plan for future practice. Gibbs (1988). I personally felt that Gibbs offered a more comprehensive technique than Kolb, for example, who has been criticised for being too narrow and underdeveloped (Heron & Pym, 1974). Referring to the Kolb Cycle, Graham Gibbs, argued: "It is not enough just to do, and neither is it enough just to think. Nor is it enough simply to do and think. Learning from experience must involve linking the doing and the thinking." Gibbs (1988).

Wherever there are people, there will be problems. Often times, the real problem lies underneath a myriad of more complicated issues. Only by discovering the actual dilemma, can an individual address the pervading issue. Through an appealing narrative of a person facing real life difficulties in his personal and professional life, The Arbinger Institute bring to light the undeniable way people betray their true self and undermine their own success. Through personal self-examination and application of the principles presented in this book, I have been able to make the necessary adjustments to view others appropriately.

When I was young, I came to understand that a person’s creativity cannot be constrained to their situation. I learned that everything we do is based off the choices in our life. While someone can offend, discourage or harm you, they cannot force your response. As a decision maker, this taught me a lot about how I need to approach choices; that is, I cannot rely solely on instinct to choose a correct path. Mentors, friends, and family are needed to guide decisions, because they will weigh options based on unique experiences that they have, which will offer a more direct insight to make the correct choice. This is hard for me, however, since I am not one to create mentors or friends, which leads me to rely on family. A family can be supportive if necessary, but they default to positions when placed under new experiences. For example, when a child in my family has broken a lamp, the mother is the one to chastise while the father is responsible for cleaning up the mess. Like everyone else, my personality is derived from some sort of solution mixed between my parents. Introspectively in his corner is my father, a gray-haired book lover who studies adolescent drug use, and I seem to have taken most of my personna from his (yet I seem to be missing the book-loving part). He is a sociologist, which is pretty much the epitome of the term “researcher.” Though not wanting to study people’s societal trends, I do want to study human disease trends, specifically in the

Self-reflection; defined as the capacity to exercise introspection, and willingness to learn more about one's fundamental nature and purpose, has become a recognised aid in personal progression. Providing us with a subjective view on how we gain our accomplishments, equally, how we overcome obstacles faced in the process (Mezirow,1990). Zimmerman (2002) suggests it is necessary to analyse our behaviour to consider our strengths while attempting to understand our weaknesses. Given, when correctly utilised such practice encourages us to strive towards our desires. As a result of such studies, self-reflection is encouraged throughout society as an aid to support our advancement in a range of areas; personally; in education; business and mental health; cognitive learning therapy, are just some of the areas self-reflection is propagated. Notably, there can be an uncomfortable feeling around ‘self-reflection’ however; this is a process that on an unconscious level the human being applies thousands of times a day. Although, when one is not aware, they do so without being able to reason with their judgement, in turn, not providing the guidance necessary to apply ourselves appropriately. Therefore, many studies support the need to consciously reflect in multitudinous areas of our lives on a regular basis. (Grant, Franklin, & Langford, 2002). Throughout this essay I shall focus on self-reflection to plan my career, how when applied, I have found it beneficial in the past and