Overall this course has taught me a lot about myself. Before I took this course, I wasn’t really excited about the fact of understanding the self. I thought I knew everything I had to know. I guess I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. As the course had gone on, I began learning more and more about different theories that actually correlated to some of the decisions I had made in my life. It also explained some of My behaviours.

In the beginning of this course, I drew a house and it exemplified me as a person. It gave the basic needs that I must have in a home and showed me what I see as important. The thinking self made me realize the two systems that are used for cognitive efficiency. Sometimes I am also a victim to cognitive biases because of these systems, but understanding these made me aware of different perspectives. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model showed me the interconnected variables that affect me as an individual. The feeling is self taught me about my emotions and its features. I apply this to my life by recognizing my emotions and understand why I’m feeling that way. Then he tried to recognize the appropriateness of my emotions. The ABC model showed me the features of the five basic emotions. Self regulation has helped me understand that affect of society and culture on myself. Emotion regulation has allowed me to select the situation and manage my emotions. The psychodynamic perspective by Freud has made me aware of the presence of my unconscious, preconscious, and conscious. The defense mechanisms has showed me the importance of reacting accordingly. The psychosocial perspective by Erickson presents the idea of “crisis” in every age. The outcomes are based on our identity and it will give meaning and continuity in ones existence. Sociological perspectives has shown me how I put myself in other peoples shoes and see myself accordingly to their view. I am now fully aware that I don’t want to be someone who I am not, I would like to be my own unique individual. My relationship and my parents are the most important thing to me. They’re the people who I know will be there no matter what. I have also seen the process of myself separating myself from them but still keeping their advice valued. My relationship and my peers are crucial part of my personal information. Friends are the people you trust that will have you become a better person. Lastly my experience in Binhi, has renewed my passion for service. The stories of these children have the power to create change in society. I believe that one day we will bridge the gap between the marginalized, so we can all live the lives that we deserve.

My incredible learning experience from the understanding self was immense. Every day I learn something new about myself and I think that is what makes quality education valuable. What I can take away from this course is a renewed look on life. All of these realisations wouldn’t be possible without the people that have supported me And most importantly our teacher for continuously enlightening us with these theories.

Thank you.

Does ecological model is a complex system that is comprised of subsystems. This is a simultaneous membership in multiple systems. The systems interact in a dynamic process. The systems move but eventually becomes more stable and it is also non-linear. The microsystem is a pattern of activities and interactions experience by individuals in immediate setting. The meso system is into relations among Microsystems. The Exosystem is settings that don’t directly involve the individual but in which events occur that affect the individual in directly. Macrosystem is culture, socioeconomic class, religion, government policies and programs that provide various systems. I realized the interconnected variables that affect me as an individual. The difference of each is how direct the effect has. This model for me also shows the important factors in my life. It shows me the variables that are worth keeping and the ones that can come and go.

A human person is entitled to his own feelings. These feelings determine your attraction to a person. It is important to understand gender identity, which is who you think you are. This determines the woman-ness and Man-ness of an individual. The way express ourselves is gender expression. Biological sex is who we are born as. Attraction is who we are romantically & sexually attracted to. The three important factors for romantic relationships are sexual attraction, romantic attraction, sexual orientation. A relationship can exist without some of these but it wouldn’t be as meaningful. Which means they are independent of one another. To me, I think that romantic attraction is the most important for a genuine relationship. It’s the affinity and love for others and the desire for emotional relationships. I think this is how I would determine if a girl is worth marrying or not.

Gender differences in emotional expression have a stereotype for each. Man report more pride, discussed, contempt. Woman report more warmth, happiness, joy, shame, guilt, fear, nervousness, and sadness. I believe that men like myself are expected to internalise our emotions and women are expected to express their emotions more. Men are also expected to be the more dominant gender and also the provider. Women are expected to be supporters and pleasure the male. In topics regarding sex, men use sex for satisfaction and desires. For women sex and love are inextricably intertwined. I believe that the modern world is beginning to be more liberal about these views. The world is slowly accepting other perspectives and sexual orientations. The basic understanding of gender is starting to integrate different forms.

My Binhi experience was something special. Although I have done many activities in helping the community, each one of them is special. They all have a specific memory that sticks with me. My experience with boys home, an orphanage that houses abandoned and abused boys, had reminded me of my blessings. It is always a good way to bring myself back down to earth and to remind myself of my humble beginnings. I remember at the start of the excursion, once the boys saw us in the room, they were filled with excitement. They were all running around the room with such joy. I would presume that they were excited about the new visitors. We were told that not a lot of people are allowed to visit them for their safety. So it was important for me to make a lasting mark on their lives. I believe it is my duty to interact with them and allow them to have fun as well. The other students with me were all motivated to let these kids enjoy their time with us. I think that is what made this activity successful. We played games with them and they were all so participative. I can remember kids climbing on the back of our students and them running around together all around the room. Their community was different from mine because it was more cramped up. They had 30 boys with not a lot of room and comparing that to mine which is of private living. They didn’t have the same amount of resources that I had. They lived with people sometimes they didn’t know completely. I believe that their community valued their relationship with each other and their trust in the people that took care of them. Sometimes all they had was each other. I’m used to being in a different environment with all the medical missions I have done but it’s different every time because I believe that every child has their own story. As I was there, I could see the way they were living and the signs of hope they had. It took me out of my comfort zone, but I believe that being out of my comfort zone helps me grow. There’s no change in comfort and no comfort in change. This is why I constantly change my habits in order to bring new experiences. I believe that every person should try to put themselves out there. To put them selves somewhere where they never saw them selves going. With the current situation in the world the gap between poverty and the middle class is rising. If we don’t become compassionate and help others, this oppression will continue. We have to raise awareness for the important causes in our society. For people to understand the imbalance of resources that is plaguing our country will be the defining point of action. This is what will bridge the gap so we are able to live in solidarity.

Friends play a crucial part in my personal formation. They are the people that I spend majority of my time with during the day. There are two groups that we can distinguish in society, which are cliques and crowds. Cliques are small groups who bond over similar interests. Crowds are larger groups that are recognized for a characteristic. A crowd that I am often associated with are the athletes. I can assume the telling points are the way I dress and the way I talk about training. Especially with my laid back personality. My clique are my group of friends that I do almost everything with. I’ve traveled the world with them and that was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I can’t imagine my life without my friends. They shaped my personality like my sense of humour and also inspired me for passions. They are the reason I love helping the community because they are also right there beside me during medical missions. In planning projects, I can trust them to execute my plans and visions. Friends are the people you trust and will have your back no matter what.

My parents are the two most important people in life. I would be nowhere in my life without them. They had taken care of me when I couldn’t take care of myself. They protected me from danger all my life. Even though at this age, where I am a freshman in college and beginning to separate from them. I still look up to them for advice and confide in them for troubles. One of the most crucial factors as to how I have developed as a person was the individuation stage. Fundamental processes from childhood to adult hood that allows the child to form his own self identity that separates himself from his parents but still connected for advice and psychological guidance. The infantile attachment from the parents is key to form in the child’s decision making abilities. This is the dynamic honing of the feeling of self is separated and unique from parents. During my younger years my parents would always watch over me and try to guid during my younger years my parents would always watch over me and try to make every decision for me. But as the years pass by and my teen years had come about, I noticed that they gave me a bit more independence and would allow me to create my own decisions but not leaving their advice on it. As they sent me away for college, I truly felt the sense of individuation. This is when self-assertion had occurred and I was able to accept the responsibility that my parents had given me. My mutuality was my effort to understand my parents views. The permeability is my willingness to accommodate their views. Despite being my own individual it was important for me to listen to their advice especially for an unfamiliar environment like college.

The looking glass theory has taught me that I put myself sometimes in other people’s perspectives. I do this to assess how people judge me as a person. Especially in new groups where I am not yet comfortable with. I can assess whether I feel a sense of pride or shame from these impressions and judgement of others. I have made society as my looking glass self. From that presumed judgement, I am able to understand how to act accordingly. What the group finds acceptable and what they don’t. Understanding this, I also make sure that I want to act as myself. I don’t want to display someone who I am not. I want to be my own unique individual.

This topic by Erik Erickson is based on his theory of psychosocial development. What really struck me was that in every age we encounter a crisis. From these crisis, we usually have two outcomes. These outcomes are based on our identity. It gives meaning & continuity to one’s unique existence. It does not emerge first during adolescence. Society draws boundaries & limits of social & sexual initiatives through social criticisms & sanctions. According to the stages, I am currently in a Intimacy vs Isolation stage. Intimacy in search of connection. One’s capacity for security in loneliness that gives intimacy its base. I can sense that need for connection as I am in a new environment for college. I am seeking new relationships and friendships as I am in an unfamiliar environment. I don’t want to feel isolated from the school community because majority of the my day is spent with them. Overall this lessons made me prioritise my relationships because as a person I believe that it is one of the most integral parts for a happy life. Some relationships might not be perfect but as long as they are true and genuine, it will benefit me as a person.

This topic by Freud has made me realize the presence of my unconscious, preconscious, and conscious. The conscious is the contact between internal & external world. The preconscious is information that is available can be retrieved through conscious recollection. The unconscious is the hidden drives, urges, wished & instincts that we are not aware of. I have learned that all of these have to work coherently. I also learned how we channel these emotions. Like displacement, again after a bad performance, I channeled my emotion to the game to my teammates. I blamed my teammates for my bad performance and that sometimes cost me my relationship with them, but then I would realize my mistakes and apologise for my irrational reaction. Also I would be in denial, I would push back responsibilities because I wouldn’t want to accept them. I should learn to understand these defense mechanisms and react to it accordingly.

This topic showed me the importance of emotions. We have a powerful propensity to pay close attention to faces & emotions. Emotions have the power to influence and limit our perceptions, thoughts and processes, and behaviours as well as health. I’ve come to realize the effect of society and culture on myself. I have integrated myself to a society like this school and my friends. If I weren’t able to integrate myself to this community, I would feel a sense of isolation. Emotion regulation is important for myself as an athlete because coaches always say it all the time that we can’t always play with heart but also use our mind. Regulating emotions means controlling the intensity and duration of it. If I play too intensely with my emotion, then I might have the tendency to make errors because my judgement is clouded. This topic has most importantly taught me to select the situation and manage my emotions.