Its been a long while since the Capstone Project was assigned and i have to say that it has surprised me. Some aspects have turned out somewhat like how i expected them to but in other ways nothing at all like what i had anticipated. When the project was first presented to me and i began to think of what i wanted to do, and the first thing that came to mind was that i wanted to do something associated with film and digital media. Although that didn't work out for me because i had lots of trouble finding a mentor that could work with my schedule, it forced me to search deeper and find another option. The idea i came up with next was Counselling, i am not sure exactly why but there was just something about it that really interested me even though it was so different from my first choice. I just thought a career where my job was to help people with their personal problems, being a person they could trust and feel comfortable is such a rewarding job. So with this knew idea in my head i began searching for a mentor online trying to find an organization that would take in a student to shadow a counselor, when i finally found a great organization called A Better Way through my mothers Co- Worker. I learned that this organization was a non- profit that assisted foster kids or kids taken custody by the state and their parents and provided visits and counseling. I started working with my Mentor in December and although my 25 hours are completed i still have plans on working with this phenomenal place. After i had all my mentor things straightened out, the next step for me was the paper. What i decided to do my paper on was The Benefits of Meditation, i felt that the connection between the two would be physiology, so i focused the paper around that.
Both the physical project and paper brought some things out of me, this inculded Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity. For me critical thinking assisted me during the process of the paper, i had to really sit down and come up with something that i know had a connection and also was a topic that had enough for my to write about. I also used critical thinking for creating the thesis and main points although i had tons of great information i had to really organize it all and categorize everything so that it was what the paper needed. I strongly believe that the paper is what took most of my full on concentration and brain power if you will. As for communication i did a lot of back and forth communication with my mentor with things having mostly to do with when i was coming in and what times the events i attended were. Communication was a huge part of the success with my hours because i was so fortunate that my mentor would respond to me and that i could trust she wouldn't flake or be out of reach if i needed her for any reason regarding the project. Collaboration, i felt that depending on the definition of collaboration i did a lot with fellow students, because although we all had different topics we still sat down with each other and talked about or papers gave each other constructive criticism, proofreading, stating opinions etc for me that's collaboration. Also i worked a lot with my mentor organizing and helping with events, with clients so that was also collaboration with her as well. As for creativity I felt that the topic i chose for my paper was pretty creative, not many would associate counseling with meditation, also i thought it was an interesting view on physiology and how the mind works, also mediation was something that i wanted to try so i thought it was really cool that i got to write a whole paper on it.
Although i loved working at A Better Way i did encounter some challenges and issues that made it a little more difficult for me to work there. My first challenge was transportation, Since i don't drive it became very difficult because i had to rely on my parents or family to drop me off which wasn't always easy because of course they have their own schedules. But i managed to work around that by working hard to schedule properly, and keep up with it. The other challenge that i faced with working at A Better Way, was over coming my shyness and leaving my comfort zone. This was a whole new experience for me, new people and new environment all together, but through time and just due to the fact that the people there were so friendly i adjusted pretty well and that was no longer an issue. With this experience i have a gained an numerous amount of characteristics that will stay with me when i enter the professional world. Some of these things would include how I've improved socially in a work environment and how i think in such an environment. Now i feel way more confident when talking with adults whether they are fellow co workers or clients, Also i gained the idea of trying to figure things out on my own and try to be more independent and not rely on my mentor for the smaller things and taking charge of the task i was given. I think that those traits that i have acquired would do me great service when i hit the job market. Personally my envelopment with this organization and exposure to this career has really inspired me. What i learned that surprised me the most was how much counselors do for their clients and for their own community, we worked toy drives and events for the kids to make their clients happy and a little more joyful. A Better Way makes its self somewhere, where people can feel safe, its such a positive place you and can feel it when you walk through the doors, and that's what truly touched me. I have gained a respect for this profession and just an overall respect for all organization like it, with this i have discovered that being a counselor is a career that i could really consider for my future and that excites me. I think that the Capstone Project was a great success for me because it did what it was meant for, to find what i wanted, to challenge myself and decide where i could see myself in the future, and i felt it did just that.
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