Block Week Reflection Paper

During block week I had the opportunity to learn more about The Gatehouse and be part of activities that I would have never had the chance to be part of on my regular working days. I met the founder of The Gatehouse and had an opportunity to practice Ba Duan Jin with him and all the other staff. Ba Duan Jin is thousand years old meditation, it is very close to The Gatehouse, every staff and volunteers know a lot of its moves and practice it regularly. I was shown few moves in the orientation but I was not comfortable with practicing it, my discomfort was visible when everyone was doing the Ba Duan Jin together. I think everyone noticed that I was struggling with few moves and was not comfortable with them, I was really touched when everyone
tried making me comfortable and made sure I was at ease when doing every move. This gesture by everyone made me respect The Gatehouse and what it stands for even more. Block week was filled with meeting new people and learning something everyday.
I really enjoyed working with different placement students however certain times the office would get packed and loud because of which whenever I answered the phone clients would feel uncomfortable and hang up. It personally really effected me, I was really aggravated when other placement students and staff were just talking and disregarding that person on the other line may feel neglected or disrespected because of their actions. Multiples time I told the staff and placement students to quiet down, however some of them did not care and carried on with their personal conversations. I am the kind of person who like to give others benefit of doubt rather than just attacking them for small mistakes. Therefore when the first few times everyone was talking loudly I requested everyone to use their indoor voices or whisper when someone’s on the phone. Personally I do not think me requesting everyone to use their indoor voices got across, and a lot of people still spoke loudly even when there was an important phone call. I saw this action by others to be really unprofessional and disrespectful and wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the severity of their
actions. One day I was really overwhelmed by how loud the staff and placement students were, the client on the phone indirectly taunted me on how unprofessional our agency was because of it. The comments by that client really hurt me and broke my patience, right after that phone call I told everyone what the client said and how we all need to quiet down a bit especially when there is a phone call. I shared how I felt when I couldn’t hear the client because of everyone. That day I realized that being authentic is really important and if I am authentic then people will connect and understand me. I believe that’s exactly what happened that day when I shared how I feel and why I feel that way. I think being authentic is really important especially in our field because in our field we want to help people and connect with them. Connection is really important when it comes to Social Work, one cannot help others or provide support if they do not understand them. During block week I learned so much and I am so happy that I got the opportunity to encounter what I experienced, I think what I learned this week will help me in the future in the field