The gift I will bring with me is the ability of compassion, understanding, and patience. I have the capacity to see multiple sides to a situation which therefore allows me to understand both the individuals role in the situation as well as the others involved. I try to keep an open mind when dealing with people. I also believe in the uniqueness of individual experience and respect the individual's viewpoint of life. I believe an individual's family, friends, school, and community are all important in their development. I thoroughly enjoy locating the resources that will potentially help the person in need.
For example, after Katrina I got involved with Habitat for Humanity. My role was to go to the shelters and get information from those who were interested in applying for homes. At one of the shelters I met two ladies from New Orleans. They were sisters one of which had a few disabilities. The shelter they were staying at was closing in a week and the sisters had no where to go. I went home and located resources available to these women that would hopefully help them. When I did all I could do I stepped back. I heard later they did find a place to stay and are in the process of applying for a Habitat home. I do not know if I helped these women, but I do know that I tried my hardest with the resources available, and honestly I think I helped myself more than I helped them. After saying that, I now realize that my role may not have been to help them so much as to discover for myself that trying to help people is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I also learned social work is much broader than I realized. I know now that although I do not posses the wisdom or wit to give good advice, I have the drive to empower people so they can begin to make their own decisions and take their own advice.
As I said earlier I feel as if my life experiences have been preparing me for my future role as a social worker. I have learned that my beliefs and mores are not the same as others and vice a versa. That being said I realize I will have to put my own beliefs and judgments aside in order to best serve my clients. One of my greatest reservations is that I will get to close. I am working on this issue everyday in my current job as an elderly caretaker. I also must face the fact that I will not be able to help everyone and I must learn to pass the buck on to someone who will.
After I graduate I hope to work in the field with children, particularly those who are handicapped. I plan to go back to school to earn my master's degree in what I am not sure yet. I am extremely excited to be given the opportunity to do what I love most, helping people find their voice and their way.
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