More than academically, I feel that I have grown personally in the last four years of college. I feel that many things have contributed to my personal growth, including my time at school, my family, my friends, and my job. All of these things have changed me from a “young adult”, to an independent adult, who is ready to go out into the world on my own and achieve my goals.

I have included in this section many papers from my college life that I feel have really expressed my personal growth over the last years. Of course, these are not the only things which have shaped me. First, I included a paper that I wrote in Group Dynamics class in fall 2003. We had to write goals for ourselves in the class and goals that we would like to achieve in groups. I wanted to make goals for myself that I knew I was capable of achieving, but also ones that I thought would bring me out of my shell a bit, especially around new people. All of my life I have been a shy, embarrassed person. The littlest things embarrass me, and I do not like to be the center of attention at all. I do not want any attention drawn to me. For as long as I can remember this is the way I have been. I decided that my goals for this class were going to be ones where I could really learn and grow from them. I decided that I wanted to be active in the group, I wanted to make sure that my thoughts and ideas were heard, and I really wanted to speak my mind during our group sessions. I feel that during our group dynamics class, I did have my say in the groups and I did achieve most of my goals. I learned from this that I can be outgoing in groups and that my ideas are achievable. I could see that I really did play a part in the contribution to the group and, in turn, I became more comfortable with the people in my class and in my group.

I had to fill out a role checklist in 2003 as well. Looking back at this role checklist, I really do feel that this is an important thing for a college student, or maybe even someone at a job, to fill out. It gives perspective to all of the things that the person is doing and the things that they have done and the things that they would like to do. I feel that I even grew from filling this form out at the time because I could see the things that I used to do that I really wished I still did, as well as things that I wish that I could do in the future. As of now, I feel that my roles are pretty much the same as when I originally filled this out, but I feel that these roles will change drastically once I graduate from college and start my life on my own. I think that this will be something that I would like to pull out in five years and rediscover my roles of past, present, and future of that time.

On the back of the role checklist, we had to rate how valuable our goals were to our life. Again, I feel as if they are still pretty much the same today as they were then, but I see a change coming about after I graduate from college. I would also like to look at this in five years and see how much I value my new roles in life.

I included my mental health reflection in this section of the personal growth as well. I put the interview in my academic growth section, and I feel that I grew in more ways than one both academically and personally through this assignment. I interviewed a man with social anxiety disorder with a history of panic attacks. I grew from this interview because I had the opportunity to sit down and see the impact of disorder. To hear the personal feelings of such a disorder changed my view of it. I was only able to see it for the physical attributes that came with the disorder, but I was now able to see how much pain and embarrassment came with experiencing it personally. The term “mental disorder” does not always mean a crazy person; it just means that things are not always clear. It can be debilitating and frustrating and cause much anguish if it is not taken care of, and it is so necessary to be taken care of in that situation. I saw my own problems in a different light and could see that there are things out there that people may need a little help with. That does not make them weak, it just makes them human. I really learned that mental health patients are just like everyone else and that you cannot tell who they are by looking at them or even by what they say. They may deal with problems differently, but they are still human.

I included my personal signature in this portfolio because I feel that my personal signature is applicable to my personal life. I feel that occupational therapy has planted the seeds to my future and I do feel that it is a growing future. I know that this profession has changed me into the person that I am and the person that I am becoming, and I know that it has changed many others lives in much of the same ways. Through learning about the values and goals of the profession, the school, and my teachers, I feel that I have been impacted with my own new set of values and goals that are much different from the person I was when I entered Alvernia College 5 years ago. I knew that through college I would learn a lot and I knew that I would grow into the adult I had always hoped to be, but I think that occupational therapy changed my growth into a more personal and adaptable growth, one that I feel is much more beautiful and full of variety than I expected myself to be 5 years ago.

School has changed my personal life in many ways, but there are other aspects to my personal life that have impacted my growth as well. My family was, is, and always will be the most significant and life-changing aspect of my life. My family has always been there for me, through both the good times and the bad times. It always sounds cliché to say that your family is your biggest fan, but I really do believe this to be true about my life. There have been ups and downs and negatives and positives, but they have been there through it all. I am thinking back now to the relationship that I had with my parents 5 years ago when I started college. I am so proud of what I have come from and all that I have. I am so proud that they took the time to give me the guidance and structure that a growing child needs. My family has always provided me with the tools I needed to succeed, a small instruction book, and heart to guide me through it all.

My level two fieldwork experiences have provided me with more personal growth than I have experienced in the previous years at college. During the time of fieldwork, I was also working every weekend, therefore, I was working seven days a week-very hard I might add. This kind of diligent work made me a lot stronger. It made the little things I used to complain of not so bad anymore. It taught me that hard work does pay off. But through this fieldwork I not only learned the value of hard work, but I learned about my capabilities as a student and a future occupational therapist. My second fieldwork supervisor still tells me how proud of me she is. She tells me how much she has seen me grow through the three months I spent there learning occupational therapy in a SNF. She has guided me in ways that she really does not know, and has provided me with the confidence to grow in this profession. I look back and think, wow, not only did I grow during that fieldwork, but I am a completely different person than I was before I began either of my fieldworks. I am more positive about my abilities, I am proud of what I have done and I have a better attitude about what I am capable of. I learned how to deal with people in different situations; whether its children in schools or the elderly in a foreign place, I have gained the confidence to be comfortable in what I am doing to help them. While I know that I am certainly not an expert in these areas, I feel that I have achieved the skills needed to become a successful entry level occupational therapist. I don't think that I would have felt comfortable saying that before I experienced level two fieldwork.

My mother has made me the person I am today and has impacted the person I want to be. She has taught me about life and how to deal with it all. We have always had a great relationship and I feel through her devotion to the lives of her children, I in turn have become devoted to my career and my future. I work hard to achieve my goals to make my mother proud, and I know that she is not proud because I am going to have a master’s degree, but because I did achieve my goals, and she would be proud of me no matter what those goals that I have are. It is always life changing and growing to know that you have someone who is on your side.

Another positive impact on change in my life has been my friends. I have some that have been through it all with me. I regret the fact that, with all of the stresses of college and jobs, we do not get to be together as much I would like. I still feel that they have impacted my life in a good way in the past 4 years. It is nice to have someone that you can always lean on, someone who will always listen, and will give you advice that you may not want, but need to hear. That is what I value most about my friendships and that is what I value most about giving to my friendships. I think that my friends have helped me stick college out. Some of them did not choose to go to college right from high school and some have, so all of our experiences are different. For the ones that did not go to college, they have helped me to understand that I am making the best decision possible for my future by going to college and furthering my education. For those that are attending college, it was going through the horror stories and successful stories of college together. My friends have provided me with the down time that I feel is so necessary in college. While the downtime at times can be few and far between, it was always so important for me to have other people around to just relax and be yourself with. I KNOW I have grown from some of those all nighters with friends where we just talked about everything and nothing and learned so much about each other and ourselves.

I feel that the most personal growth that I have achieved occurred this past summer. I went to live with my boyfriend, Matt, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was very hard for me at first, I was in a city I did not know, I had a job where I knew no one, and I had no friends except for Matt. I lived independently, I had to buy my own groceries, I had to clean up the house, and I had to make sure that we had dinner each night. The bills had to be paid and I had to make sure that I woke up on time each day to get to work on time. It was the first time that I had to do it all on my own, and it was hard at the beginning. I matured very quickly because I had responsibilities and I had to get the things done that needed to be done. I would cry to my mother about the difficulties of it, but I knew this time I needed to stick it out unlike living at college, I had to do it for myself and for Matt. Eventually, I got myself into a routine, and my life changed. I adapted to my environment and learned my way around the city. I grew to love my job, and I made so many friends during that time as well. I had to stick up for myself, because I had no one else who would do it for me, I had to take care of myself, which, being the spoiled girl that I was, turned out to be a huge learning experience! I was very appreciative to have Matt, because, while I was becoming more independent, it was still good to have someone there who I could count on to always be on my side and listen to me. I grew even more during summer, and it was very hard for me to come home. I knew that coming home would change my independent life, but I also knew that coming home and going back to school would put me closer and closer to an independent life forever. I do not think I ever change more than during that summer, plus I lived at the beach!!!

The final contribution to my personal growth is my work. I currently work at the Pennsburg Manor, a skilled nursing facility in my home town, as a cook and a receptionist. I have been working at the manor since I was 16 years old, so I really do feel as if I have grown up there. I have worked with educated and uneducated people, I have worked with kind and not so kind people, and I have had my problems there as well. I have learned throughout my job that the attitudes of others can really impact ones personal attitude. I have been able to work with people who I really enjoy working with and I have learned that negativity breeds negativity. It has been unbearable at times to work with people who are negative because I feel that it makes me negative as well. I think that this will impact my career as an occupational therapist because I will see people who are negative and who do not want to try to better their situation. I have learned from working that the most important thing to do is to not give them a reason to be pessimistic. Just as negativity changes people, so does positivity, and I believe that positivity will conquer all. I have learned through my job to be more positive, if you focus on the negative, nothing positive will ever get done. I have also learned at work the values of the elderly in our population. I believe that I have seen a broad spectrum of people at our home and I have seen their contributions. I have learned so much about myself and gotten a lot of advice from our residents over the years, advice about life, love, and cooking, all advice that I will take with me throughout my life.