Weekly Blog

Blog 10

I chose my last image, because it is a depiction of how I feel. I feel accomplished to have finished a semester-long running assignment that seemed like an unclimbable mountain at first.

If I could turn back the hands of time I’d most definitely complete this semester in a different fashion. At times I think I allowed the syllabus and assignments to overwhelm me, so I would procrastinate until the last minute, only to complete an assignment with built up anxiety while realizing “it wasn’t even that bad”. So many Sunday nights wasted with my anxiety through the roof, for no reason. If I could do it all over again I’d stay a lot more calm with a sprinkle of optimism. I would decipher all of the intricate instructions a tad more than what I did, in order to simplify everything individualistically for my own sanity. Did I learn a lot? Yes I did! And, that’s all that matters because I’m not a stranger to my cycle of anxiety, then completion, on to satisfaction, and then back to anxiety again. Going back to my initial blog, I can’t say that any stone was left unturned. I would like to review what I’ve learned over break though, because semesters are usually a big blur to me. My expectations of knowledge were met with this course, but I can’t imagine how much more immersive this information is for an on campus-student. That thought has given me a serious case of “FOMO” (fear of missing out) this semester. I grew this semester with total accountability. I can’t blame any of my downfalls on anyone else. I also realized that I had some recall and attention issues and was ecstatic when I finally got a formal ADHD diagnosis, because that means that I’m not going crazy after all. This diagnosis will also help me in my future studies by allowing me to be able incorporate tools and management for my personal growth. I will always remember that what I put into anything, I will hopefully get out of it. I will use empathy moving forward even more than before in my professional career to make sure that I am serving the purpose for each individual, to the best of my ability, no matter where they are from!

Blog 9

I chose this image because it reminded me that in a way all things are connected including people. Humans are the ones that can best make these connections, and thats how I felt about my lessons this semester

I would like to think that the content of my eP is a compilation of where I am in life right now. Applying lessons learned from the class, textbook, and assignments to my everyday situations was important to me, because it helped me to understand the information better. In my assignment takeaways I was reminded to never give up on my dreams while reviewing another student’s study abroad blog. That same information and experience also reminded me not to take things for granted while doing my archive assignments and talking about how much I appreciate my family even though they don’t live near me. While learning about cross-cultural statistics and the importance of studies being accurate, fair, and translatable; it reminded me a lot of my human services studies and the importance of being a great helper by understanding your client fully and that stands for their cultural and religious background, all in order to serve the client in the best way possible.

My top three things that I learned were about my own autonomy and perhaps needing to change how I satisfy my needs for autonomy. I talked about this in blog number six. In blog number three I talked about the second thing that I learned which was the difference in introversion, extroversion and all in between. That assignment assessment helped me to understand accuracy behind definitions, while teaching me a little more about myself and how I’m NOT an extravert. Lastly, I really just got to understand what I set out to understand and that is a deeper understanding of the diversity of other cultures, and how I can attack situations moving forward in my career.

Blog 8

These kids look different, but they all seem happy. If you look closely you can tell the difference within their style of smile, and how much they choose to show their expression.

I’m not that well traveled, and unfortunately don’t have a diverse group or friends or live in a neighborhood with people that don’t look like me.  I’ve only been to 5 countries in my lifetime; Japan which was just a layover flight, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and you guessed it…America! I do feel in other cultures expression will be determined based on socialistic rules or class based off of my experiences thus far. Like in Ho Chi Minh city people didn’t possess a lot of emotion, and this could’ve been towards me specifically, being that I’m an American foreigner in a country that America had war with. While in Thailand people were so expressive and open. They expressed love and joy to be around someone they’d never seen before. The people in Bangkok were open to dialect if they were fairly good at speaking English (I don’t speak any other languages), because they wanted to get a small peek inside of a foreigner’s life. Lastly, in Siem Reap I felt the most emotional expression, to the point that I was extremely overwhelmed. Being swarmed by beggars, and ladies selling items constantly was something that I was not used to. The best thing that came from visiting Cambodia was visiting Angkor Wat! My experiences with other cultures was through a guided trip, and although I tried to make as many personal connections as I could, there’s no doubt that my view of cultural expression is still skewed. I only visited tourist areas. I didn’t get to see the authentic thing, so with that I know that there is so much more to see. I wouldn’t be able to know whether my experience was universal through the specific cultures or not because we didn’t cover enough geographical ground. I do believe that if we had visited different classes of people in the country they may have had the same mannerisms, but not the same expressions fully based on what they may be going through in life.

Blog 7

This version of Cinderella was one I loved as a child. I remember watching it over and over, wishing that I was Cinderella even though she was brought up in such a bad life. I believe that the musical numbers were what caught my attention the most.

I would say for the most part and to the dismay of many females, Fairy Tales do reflect a shared exemplification of cultural norms and values. This would hold prominence for Fairy Tales of the past. Here in the present where feminism is constantly on the rise, and many cultures are more understanding of the lack of gender roles, a lot of Fairy Tales are being re-made to reflect just that. Just like anything else, change takes time so the original Fairy Tales are surely still being told, with the male being more dominant as the lifesaver and the woman always being in distress. This is something that many people of different cultures can understand. Although our world is changing, we still live in a time where Males hold the most dominance. For children who hear these Fairy Tales at a ripe age where they are extremely impressionable, it would be better for there to be a better narrative that shows equal rights and opportunities. For there to be more women saviors or everyone working together instead of one person in charge, is something that I’m happy for and hopeful that my children will get to witness. That way the narrative of men knowing everything, being smarter, or always having to save the woman will finally be erased. Like I said above I watched a specific version of Cinderella throughout my childhood, and the main character always had a positive influence on me because of her positivity through her adversity.

Blog 6

I chose this image because it represents one of my first attempts at autonomy.

I kid you not the first week that I moved out on my own I went grocery shopping and bought 4 boxes of cereal, and each preceding day I opened each box of cereal one by one. It was my little way of saying “I do what I want”. One of those things you may dream of as a kid, is eating the cereal you want and not having to wait until the opened box is finished. I also ate dessert for breakfast many days just for the hell of it. As you would imagine I wasted many dollars behind stale cereal and gained much more pounds than I’d like to announce just to prove a point. I wanted to be my own boss for as long as I can remember, I hate telling people where I’m going or doing. It didn’t work so well living under my mothers roof and it’s still not working out with my husband and three year old son who now questions my every move. To satisfy my autonomy I began to eat whatever and whenever I wanted, and no I’m not one of those people who never gains weight, so my autonomy satisfaction has completely backfired on me, and I need a new plan.

My needs for competence have been met with the furtherment of education. I prove that I’m competent by acing exams, and challenging myself academically. It goes hand in hand with how I satisfy my relatedness. My husband often says that what motivates me is status, and although I hate to admit it I feel like I’ll be more respected and accepted if I had a higher financial or academically achieved status. The higher up I go the more people want to be connected to me. As I’m writing this I feel like nothing that satisfies me is physically healthy or a healthy way of thinking. I definitely need to work on that.

Blog 5

I chose this image because the Venus Flytrap has been known to be a symbol of persistence. When a trap doesn’t catch a fly it doesn’t give up the pursuit it just resets and tries again!

I am…powerful

I am…courageous

I am…persistent

I am…empathetic

I am…motherly

I am…indecisive

I am…kind

I am…loving

I am…thoughtful

I am…dramatic

I see myself as someone who shows resilience. Although I don’t always see myself as a strong person, I have to constantly remind myself that there’s strength in a constant fight. Based on events that have happened in my life or that will happen, there’s no doubt that everything will continuously shape me into an individual. Who I am is largely based on my family dynamic and the values that we hold. I come from a close-knit family that always makes it a priority to try and take care of one another. Although I am an individual and I am constantly cultivating what it means to be Keirah and there are clear things that separate me from the group, I can’t help but think that a large part of my values are still connected to my bloodline. Being loving or kind and showing empathy are just a few things that I have developed over my lifespan. Becoming motherly has blossomed into something wonderful over the past three years, and my drama queen antics are something that I’ve been recently told have “came out of the womb with me”. I wouldn’t personally label any of the above statements as independent construals of self, except for maybe being dramatic or indecisive because they don’t really serve anyone besides myself. I believe the rest of my I am statements can be categorized within the interdependent construals of self. Even my strength and my powerfulness is not self absorbed. They are things that are fueled by the needs of my immediate family. I have to be strong and I find strength in knowing my husband and son are depending on me to show up, in that same manner it is what keeps me persistent in my life goals for all of our benefit. I believe this makes me extremely interdependent. I can’t name many things that I do independently, and I actually would like to see that change for at least one aspect of my life, or I fear that I will continue to be lost in everyone else and struggle with my own self identity. 

Blog 4

Above is a snapshot of the notes that I took for the first Cross-Cultural Psychology Exam.

Last week around this time, I was having a glass of wine in celebration of the ending of an anxious and tiresome week leading up to the first exam. I usually freak out a tad because of the unknown of how a teacher may present the information we have learned in exam form. I ask myself questions such as “ I wonder if I skimmed over something important while reading?” or “I wonder how applied the questions are going to be?”. I usually end up faring well on my tests, but with the built anxiety and worry I always fear making simple mistakes. So getting a ninety-six on the exam was rewarding, but of course the two questions that I got wrong were…simple mistakes. I did go back to make sure that I understood why the answer I gave wasn’t correct. I just wish that the test review included all of the answer choices, so that I could further understand the entirety of the question. As I read through the chapters I was able to take notes on what I thought was important, and the study guide helped to solidify what was important to the professor and I. And, I found the review sheet to be very helpful for last minute studying leading up to the exam. I’m not ever going to stop making simple mistakes on my test or exams until I’m unchained from the existence of my test anxiety. So the feedback that I can give myself is to research ways to help with this problem, and then maybe on future tests I’ll get better grades.

Blog 3

My personalized word cloud based on words that describe me. These are words that I connected with the most.

Just when I didn’t think I could find out anything else new about myself, I am surprised yet again. I did not expect much out of this activity, so I’m very shocked about my results. Some findings were contradictory to my actual thoughts of self. But after reflection I am starting to believe these new findings to be true. I scored very high on three out of the five categories. Neuroticism, openness, and agreeableness were where I scored between thirty-six and forty-one. I am an extremely emotional person, and as I grow older I feel like it is getting heavier. So scoring the highest in neuroticism was no surprise for me. Not dealing with child-hood trauma can definitely take a toll on your emotional being, this is something that I am currently working on, and I hope to score lower in this once I am able to productively compartmentalize my heavy feelings. Openness was my second highest score and the score that I am most happy about. I have a vivid imagination, and I love experiencing new things with new people. This score was very spot on, with the way I live my life, and how I have begun to heal myself. Agreeableness was another high scorer for me, and something that can be a negative and a positive thing depending on the situation. I do have compassion for others, and I love to help people. The negative side to agreeableness is giving in, to avoid confrontation. As I gain wisdom and respect I am finding agreeableness easier to manage, by also taking a less passive approach to communication. Nobody likes conflict, but you always have to make sure you are looking out for yourself. The category that warranted the lowest score was conscientiousness. This is not an inconsistency although I wish it was. I will have to work the hardest in this area, probably for the rest of my life. I like to hold on to the good things, the people I love, the places I frequent, and the things I cherish. When one of those things changes I feel the separation very deeply. I don’t grieve well, and what I am finding is the older I get, the more grievances I will have. I’m sure with time I’ll be able to navigate that a lot better, but this twenty-something year old has not been taking it well so far. The most surprising score was Extraversion because up until now I have considered myself an extravert. Well the NEO Summary determined…that was a LIE! I have never considered myself an introvert. I am the person at the gathering who talks to everyone, and that everyone wants to talk to. I’ve been told that I’m easy to confide in, and I love to have conversations, so how could I be an introvert? Well the summary suggested that I like to be alone or with close friends, now this could be a current thing or this could be continuous, and that’s one thing I am very unsure about. Recently I’ve been through a lot, and it has made me think of what matters the most, and honestly I have wanted to commune with the people that I hold dear. I like to sit alone and relive precious moments or hear the birds chirp and soak up all of the realness. So, maybe I am an introvert which is weird, but I can live with that.

Blog 2

I chose the image above because it represents the core of my beliefs and my inner being, which is growth. I believe that life comes with a never ending pursuit of betterment.

Often people say that college is what makes the person, and when I began my university studies I took that statement lightly. As we take courses that are designed to progressively get more difficult, it is taught that it is only shaping the student to become a better person for the workplace, and on a personal level. To accept the feat of challenging yourself is knowing that you will grow stronger through every test. So waking up everyday with open arms for upward change is what I decided to do, because everything else seemed unproductive. Peacefulness is my secondary life value. I try my best to stay far away from chaos. My theory is that if my mind is at peace, then everything else around me has to follow…within the realm of reality. 

I met my husband while in college, and quite simply love became a distraction. I left college unfinished, in search of “something else”, and during that soul searching escapade I faced a lot of adversity along with familial additions. Through all of these life changes I grew, and I decided I wasn’t giving life all I had to offer. So, I combined all of my trauma, lessons, loves, and dreams into the decision of finishing my degree in Psychology. Much like all of my other family members and my husband, we tend to stray away from the straight and narrow, and sometimes that means we take multiple detours. But, that’s ok because the different paths are what is molding me into the person that I am constantly becoming. My mom has always encouraged me to follow my heart and stay in my lane, so I think that is exactly what I am doing. My hope is that when I land a position in my career field, that my employer or patients will see that I am delivering my best self to them, by constantly searching for new ways to grow and better myself  with a peaceful mindset. I didn’t just choose any major, life happened and Psychology is what I was drawn to. I hope that my life experiences and perspectives will help me to be the best candidate for the people that I am called to help.

Blog 1

I chose this image, because I believe the pursuit of understanding one cultural diversity, will be the solution to a lot of madness. I’d like to help people, and one day share in the joy with others in different cultures.

While reviewing the course objective I found myself connecting with a number of the points. There are two course objectives that I believe I can attach to my personal life. Developing a greater understanding of other cultures along with the skills to better interact with those cultures and having a deeper level of comprehension of other cultures were my personally useful objectives. Along with traveling to other countries, my husband and I would like to move to a more culturally diverse area so that our children can be exposed to more experiences. By gaining the tools that I need to communicate with other cultures, I will also have the opportunity to pass these same tools down to my children, in hopes of creating a generational domino effect. I will be able to meet people and appreciate their heritage more, and hopefully they will be able to do the same for me. Optimistically thinking I believe that I will gain trust and new friendship. By changing my outlook on life and building relationships outside of my own culture, I plan to network and gain professional cultural diversity, along with the new gained understanding of others.

During this semester I hope to gain a new perspective about people and be able to address my areas of weakness through my academic gain. Understanding where I have room to grow based on the things that I learn will be very beneficial to my future professional career. I will strive to learn all that I can by using the most efficient time management planning possible. By creating a daily and weekly planner of my assignments, allotting for subject study time, applying my learnings to everyday occurrences, and steadily reviewing, I shall really set myself up for success.