Time to Reflect

1. Sometimes I'm not as "alive" as I would like to be or probably should be. I feel like I have my own way of doing things and stick to that way. It is rare that I try new things and step out of my comfort zone to experience new things or different ways of thigns. Socially I do feel alive I like to meet new people but at the same time I look for the same people and people that aren't like me I don't give much of a chance. I feel if I were more open to new things I would be more socially and psychologically alive.
2. I feel like I have the least energy towards the end of the semester during the school year. I am so drained from everything that has been going on work, school, family, friends ect. that it just wears me down. By the time finals roll around and I need to focus the most I feel like I am just on empty. Sometimes I feel like I go and go until there is nothing left and I waste my energy on things that I shouldn't be wasting it on.
3. I think the most important thing is to take time for myself every now and then. Just stepping back and forgetting everything that is going on around me for a little bit can give me that energy boost that I need. Making sure that I don't sweat the small things either and save my energy and worries for the bigger problems I have in my life. I would do this by setting aside time for myself every now and then. Also I need to surround myself with people that care about me and can help me instead of causing me more problems and stress in my life. I think I can put myself in situations that I want to be in.

Stress

This past weekend I dealt with the stress that comes from a relationship. Every relationship takes time and effort and this weekend it was hard to give that to the relationship. I had to go home for the weekend to work and did not have much time to put towards the relationship issue. Instead of getting all worked up about it like I usually would have I decided to focus on work and told myself that everything will get worked out with time. When I do have the time to work things out it will be better than trying to juggling a bunch of things at once. So I worked and told myself this is what I have to do now and can handle that situation Sunday night when it can have my full attention. It was still on my mind but knew things would work out in the end. Work helped just to take my mind off it all, I love my job and have many friends I look forward to seeing on weekends. Having my friends around me always helps with my stress level and knowing I was making money while with my friends wasn't so bad either. In the end the relationship problem did get fixed and things are back to be being good again.

relationships

I have a very close relationship with both of my parents. They are for me no matter what and are behind me100%. I believe in all parent child relationships there is a parent that is more dominant or that stands out more. Not meaning one is more important just if I was in car accident or something of that sort I know I woud call my mom first. So obviously my more dominant parent is my mom. She would do anything for me and my sister and couldn't ask for a better mom. My problem is I would love to tell her more things that go on in my life. I know she would be a great help with struggles I face and we could grow even more closer than we already are. I just can't seem to open up like I would like to. I tend to keep things inside and just hope they will sort themselves out. I usually end up hurt worse than when the problem first stared evolving. My goal for next time I spend quality time with my mom would be to share something that is going on in my life at that current time, something that is hard for me to express usually.

Death of WSC student

I recently found out about the girl that had died due to a her struggling with an eating disorder. I think this death is extremely tragic a young girl around my age is difficult to see pass. I know people who have struggled and still do struggle with eating disorders and can't help think how sad it truly is. I believe they look in the mirror and see someone else and not who they truly are. It breaks my heart knowing that our society has put so much pressure on young people to look a certain way it kills them. I know myself I see pictures of models and wish that I had that swimsuit body but know that isn't realistic and I'm okay with being average and try to tell myself it could be worse. This is a hard sad loss and only wish there was more someone could have done before it got to this point. Hopefully in the future at Wayne State we'll be more aware and accepting of how people look and appreciate everyone for who they truly are.

REDS

I feel like college is one of the hardest times to really take care of myself. I feel like I am doing so much all the time and it is hard to find time to take care of myself like I should be. I would love to eat better but being away from home and just eating what is convient or what I know how to cook, which is not much, is not good for me. I have tried to cut back on things such as eating when I'm bored or drinking pop with the hope that that will improve my body. I also like to get outside and do things, but living in Nebraska/Iowa the weather doesn't always allow that. I hope that my project in Personal Growth will allow me to comit to a goal and feel better about myself. I have learned taking time out for myself during the day helps me focus more on my school work and just wrapping my head around everything that is going on in life. Over all there is always more that could be done but I think too much at a time will hurt me in the long run so I just need to take it one day at a time with the idea of what needs to be done for my well-being.

Personal Growth

Since I will be graduating in May I have felt all sorts of stress. So instead of waiting until the last minute I have been trying to get things done early. Things such as my resume and the search for interships and jobs. With all the things I do I start to think more and more about myself and what kind of person I will be in the real world. It has all started to make me nervous but realized it is coming no matter what. I have just begun to take things one day at a time and enjoy my last year of college. I do more things for myself and have learned to take a deep breath and dive in when things get tough. Each day I learn more about myself, my fears, and what I am looking forward to in the future. For right now I'll take it one day at a time and appreciate everything that I have going for myself right now and hope for the best in the future.

Being someone else

Everyday our lives are influenced by the many things happening in society. We have the choice to change ourselves to be like the many people we see in the media or the people that surround us in our lives or we can choose to be our own person. I know myself that I have changed certain things about myself thinking it might make me happier in some way or another. If we do this though are we truly happy being like someone else or trying to live up to societies standards? Maybe if we just be the person we really are we are a model for someone else. Not necessarily in the sense of someone wanting to be like you but someone knowing that it is okay to be your own person. So yes I do believe that wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you and the person you are supposed to be.

Getting the Hang of Things

I feel like my personal growth class is kind of a lot at times. It is like I can't get a hold on things and it's scattered all over the place. I think one of the hardest things for me is all the different things that need to be done on the internet and all the websites. It just gets to be a lot at times. I know that we are trying something new this semester with the grant but it is really hard being the guineay pig for something new. Mostly because the teacher is trying something new and not everything is going to work how we imagined. I am sure it will get easier as we all get more used to the new and different internet sources we are utalizing. Right now I am just feeling kind of lost and I hope I am not the only one that feels this way about our new situation within the class.

self concept

I completely agree with the self concept statement. I know I always took to heart what people told me when I was little. I was lucky enough to have gotten involved with the right crowd when I was little and when they told me things they were to better myself. My parents also played a big part in becoming who I am today. I always remember my mom telling me if you want to be a garbag lady when you get older and that makes you happy then we will support and love you no matter what. All they wanted for me and my sister was to be happy with whatever we did or do in our lives. They support me with every decision I make and are there to help me through whatever it is when I don't make the best decision for myself. I do remember when I was younger my grandma was very old fasioned and believed girls played a certain role and boys played their particular role. For a long time I thought it was wrong to wear sport shirts and play outside. I soon came to realize with the support of my parents and seeing my friends do different things that it was ok to go against the "gender norm." It is crazy to think that when I was little that I cared so much about what my friends thought, I wouldn't wear certain things or do certain things just because I was scared of what someone would say to me. I still see this today with my younger cousins, I would love to tell them to just be your own person. Then I think that is how I became my own person and how I learned to be my own person in society. I feel like in a way it was the beginning of thinking for myself even though it was through someone else telling me what was ok and not ok, but ultimately I decided who I listened to and what I truly liked.

Invitation to Change

I think the thing that really caught my attention is in order to change we need to realize what we are afraid of and most scared of becoming. Change is a very scary thing for everyone. We all like to stay within our comfort zones. One major thing I would like to change about myself is to stop being so critical and worried about everything and just enjoy myself more often. I think this is a hard age and I sometimes feel a lot of pressure to succeed or I won't go anywhere after I leave college. I would also like to grow as a person into a more mature adult because soon I'll be thrown out into the real world without a clue. I hope I gain the tools to be successful in my job and as a new comer in the world. I hope that if I do fail I will be strong enough to get back up and try again and harder until I am happy and in a new comfort zone that I will soon love. No one likes to fail and fall down but I think that will be the only way to learn and get to where I want to be some day.