I thought today’s course highlighted various aspects of my personality and my beliefs that I need to improve. Being a first generation American, there are is a great amount of pressure to succeed. This makes me lean more towards a type A personality in a work and academic setting. I realize that I fit many of the negative belief systems that we reviewed, such as having to be a perfectionist and having my earnings and stance define me. I found it insightful as it reflects a clash of cultures. Even though I come from a Latino culture where family comes first, assimilation to the American independent culture impacts me and my family’s expectations a great amount, but I believe that being selfish is wrong as family comes first. I think a great …show more content…
I realized the amount of negative self-talk that I exhibit during and after a stressor. For example, my biggest stressor is speaking in public. I fear judgement from my peers whenever I speak out loud and always focus on what I said wrong. This happens in the form of what if… and I should have… statements, leading to rumination of the negative. I can now see how the “B” in the ABC model influences how I reacted to the situation emotionally. I usually feel worry and fear before and during a presentation and anger once I am done because I feel like I should have done better. If I find a way to change these positively, such as setting myself up for Linking this to my personality, dealing with my stressor in negative affirmations is not a great way to manage my stress because of the way I react with my situations. Through my behavior patterns, I realize that I internalize my feelings until I implode, coming from my family. Rather, I should be acknowledging these behaviors towards a positive change and learn to cope with my stressors better. I agreed with the steps to work with emotional stress, specifically when we need to accept and allow to feel a certain way. All of our emotions are human and it is important to feel all of the emotions to be mentally healthy. The way we act in regards to these feelings is what we should be concerned with. Overall, I think that using these positive
Living in between cultures is something that I have had to struggle with, for much of my life. As a second generation immigrant, I have found myself negotiating between two cultural identities. On one end I identify as an American, and on the other as a Latina who is Nicaraguan and Dominican. Throughout my life my identity has come under attack from both sides. I have been called too American by my immigrant family while also being called too Latina by peers and academia. As a first generation college student and second generation immigrant, I have faced the stressors of living in between cultures. I have received both acceptance and rejection, as well as experienced stress relating to my mother’s status in this country and my responsibility to help her navigate daily activities.
Many people have asked the question, and many others have been asked, ‘What is the greatest country in the world?’ Or, if you live in America, ‘Why is America the greatest country in the world?’ Many people answer this by saying things such as freedom, our education, diversity, etc., while others may say the people who live here, namely, Americans. Yet few are able to sufficiently answer the next question, ‘What makes a person an American?’ Many will say that living here makes you an American. Yet they seem to forget about the thousands, if not millions, of illegal immigrants that are living in our country. Are they Americans just because they are living in our country? Our federal government does not agree, which is why we have several laws concerning the deportation of illegal immigrants. Others, who see past the simple idea of living here as a means of being an American, may say that your characteristics help to define you as an American. Yet the most agreeable answer would be a combination of the two. An American would be someone who lives in America legally, and also holds within themselves various characteristics, which among these include an over-abundance of confidence,
The American Self is the common character and values of American people which evolved depending on governmental philosophy, religious belief, and economical aspiration from beginning of its formation to the present. Any of the change in the above factors would contribute to the evolution of the American Self. Over time, the American Self changed from communalism, whole hearted religious faith, and interest in material goods to individualism, self interests, and greed.
My grandmother has a certain look in her eyes when something is troubling her: she stares off in a random direction with a wistful, slightly bemused expression on her face, as if she sees something the rest of us can’t see, knows something that we don’t know. It is in these moments, and these moments alone, that she seems distant from us, like a quiet observer watching from afar, her body present but her mind and heart in a place only she can visit. She never says it, but I know, and deep inside, I think they do as well. She wants to be a part of our world. She wants us to be a part of hers. But we don’t belong. Not anymore. Not my brothers—I don’t think they ever did. Maybe I did—once, a long time ago, but I can’t remember anymore. I love my grandmother. She knows that. I know she does, even if I’m never able to convey it adequately to her in words.
What does it mean to be an American? To me, what it means to be American is to Pledge Allegiance to your country, to proudly boast that you live in a country that has a justification for existence, to be given opportunity. Although there are many definitions of what it means to be an American, does being an American really just mean being successful in society? The point of this essay is to describe the different meanings and my feelings of what it is to be “American”.
In the 21st century, if an individual decides to make a major commitment or resolution, they have the utmost support from their peers and family members. However, when a first-generation college student decides on furthering their education, the dearest people close to the student seem to disappear. Linda Banks-Santilli (2015) claims that first-generation students apply to a single college and without the help of a parent (para. 13). Although Banks-Santilli does not say so directly, she assumes that the students can not afford multiple application fees and the students are unsure on how to determine which college is a good fit, as their parents have not taken them on a college tour. I agree that first-generation students have far less help
IMost Americans in the US for a long time agree that the first time when they are new to the United States is difficult, while just getting to know the new life, while adapting to many different cultures. Acquiring culture, learning a foreign language, finding a job in the US is something that newcomers in the United States need to care about. I am 52 years old, living in America for four years. During the four years I learned more things than when I first arrived in America and also lost the things that I had in Vietnam.
Averill, J. R., DeWitt, G. W. & Zimmer, M. (6/1978), The Self-Attribution of Emotion as a Function of Success and Failure. Journal of Personality, Vol. 46 Issue 2, p323, 25p; DOI: 10.1111/1467-6494.ep7380419. Retreived from EBSCOhost
Over the course of this class I have pieced together many things about my own life that before went unnoticed. I am now able to see things in a bit of a different light. Now that I have been introduced to the realm of psychology I understand some of the reasons for behavior around me. I have learned that there is a reason for most everything and a lot of our behaviors and mental processes can be explained through psychology. Studies have been conducted for many years to try and pinpoint the source of our behavior and it is not something that most people think about every day. Having a better understanding of why we operate the way we do will help me to better understand myself and the others around me.
When stressful events occur three types of responses take place, an emotional response, a physiological response, and a behavioral response. Negative emotional responses such as anxiety, anger, and grief are common responses to stress. However, in some cases, an individual may exhibit positive emotions when coping with stressful situations. According to Folkman and Moskowiz, positive emotions promote resilience in the face of stress by promoting creativity, problem solving, flexibility, and can enhance physical and psychological health (Weiten & Lloyd, 2006, p. 84).
The generation that I was born into can sometimes be easily misunderstood by those in earlier generations. The individuals in my generation get thrown many different labels such as those that Rosie Evans (n.d.) listed in her article, “Millennials, Generation Y, the Lost Generation, boomerang kids, the Peter Pan generation…” and more. This can impact us as a whole because some will begin to live by the labels, in some cases that can be negative but in others it may be beneficial. Many people in this generation believe that they can’t reach their full potential due to labels and prejudgment, while there are others believe nothing can hold them back. When we get labeled all together that is also what may drive some to try to stand out from the
I think it is important, and even more so after this course, to look holistically at psychological conditions and states and at the interactions between biological, cognitive, social, and environmental factors and how they contribute to psychological health or disorder. I have become particularly fascinated by the concepts surrounding the biopsychosocial perspective and of psychoneuroimmunology. The latter is extremely interesting and seems potentially revolutionary in how we conceptualize or utilize the mind-body connection. I now intend to take more advanced classes related to that as I progress though my academic career. I also hope to take classes and learn more about developmental psychology and social psychology. Stemming from these personal interests, although the text and some of the films did expound on this, if there is anything I wish the course had gone over more it would be related to exploring in even greater depth how culture and environment can shape psychology both cognitively and physically. Understanding and researching the multitude of components involved in overall health would benefit and contribute significantly to public health policy, I believe. This course did, however, provide a good foundation to pursue further knowledge
I understand my styles and behaviors better now. Too bad I didn’t take this course earlier in life. Understanding myself will help me understand other people better I believe. That will be helpful concidering the profession I intend to have.
This course opened my eyes to the importance of dialogue in ways that I had not previously considered. I did not know in counseling you should only talk 30 percent of the time and that the remaining 70 percent should be the counselee’s time to talk. My typical counseling sessions in the past were about 50/50 dialogue. I thought that the counselee needed my opinion. A majority of my sessions included this amount of dialogue, which I am now understanding was not helpful to those people. Even though several people did have great results due to our sessions, they will looked to me in the future for more answers to various problems. This made the counseling relationship more dependent on my advice rather than them talking out their problem
I took this class because it aligns with other studies I have done. I have completed life coaching certificates and other psychology and mental classes. My expectations for this class are to learn what it means to educate and be educated. In life and business, I can see where understanding individual and/or group motivations can help show the bigger picture and give ideas on how to proceed.