1) Motivation and Commitment for the Social Work Profession As I reminisce back upon my life there are many experiences and factors that have affected and shaped who I am today. If you examine Nature vs. Nurture, Ive always concluded that human expression is not just black and white, there is a definite grey area where both nature (genetics) and nurture (environment) combine. For example, childhood experiences or family dynamics can either make or break you as a person depending on whether you allow negative experiences or less than ideal environments to detrimentally affect the way in which you view the world. You can prevail forward or stay with the natural human tendency to digress in the past but you decide how long you want that period of digression to be. My immediate family growing up was my father, stepmother, mother, and my twin brothers. My parents divorced when I was two. My mother was severely depressed; because of this I did not see her again until I was eight years old. I dont remember a lot from when I was young but I do recall my brothers and I visiting our mother under supervision in a playroom of a human services building. She explained to us that she was better and could soon keep us every other weekend. My mother was better for a while but the depression came in cycles, sometimes she was up and other times she was down. My twin brothers were born mentally challenged on the mild spectrum. As I watched my mother and brothers struggle with trials and tribulations of life, I realized how much I enjoy helping others cope with the obstacles and barriers that can come with life, with or without a disability that brings life into another realm. Which is how I came to work with several different companies serving various populations such as, mentally challenged, mentally ill, physically disabled and Traumatic Brain Injury. My interest in social work and psychology began as a teenager in my first psychology class my freshman year in
1) Motivation and Commitment for the Social Work Profession As I reminisce back upon my life there are many experiences and factors that have affected and shaped who I am today. If you examine Nature vs. Nurture, Ive always concluded that human expression is not just black and white, there is a definite grey area where both nature (genetics) and nurture (environment) combine. For example, childhood experiences or family dynamics can either make or break you as a person depending on whether you allow negative experiences or less than ideal environments to detrimentally affect the way in which you view the world. You can prevail forward or stay with the natural human tendency to digress in the past but you decide how long you want that period of digression to be. My immediate family growing up was my father, stepmother, mother, and my twin brothers. My parents divorced when I was two. My mother was severely depressed; because of this I did not see her again until I was eight years old. I dont remember a lot from when I was young but I do recall my brothers and I visiting our mother under supervision in a playroom of a human services building. She explained to us that she was better and could soon keep us every other weekend. My mother was better for a while but the depression came in cycles, sometimes she was up and other times she was down. My twin brothers were born mentally challenged on the mild spectrum. As I watched my mother and brothers struggle with trials and tribulations of life, I realized how much I enjoy helping others cope with the obstacles and barriers that can come with life, with or without a disability that brings life into another realm. Which is how I came to work with several different companies serving various populations such as, mentally challenged, mentally ill, physically disabled and Traumatic Brain Injury. My interest in social work and psychology began as a teenager in my first psychology class my freshman year in