First
of all, it is my second year of college and I’m getting excited to explore
pathways that will lead to a successful career. Now that I’m in a quarantine
period following the novel coronavirus outbreak, I wanted to share with you a wide
variety of perspectives related to the fields of study that interest me the
most, by specifically applying topics I’ve learned from my classes to what I’m
planning to accomplish in the next several years. The purpose of this
discussion is to explain how I will use my knowledge of social, psychological,
and environmental factors of human development to make the world a better place
for everyone and the relationships among individuals and their
communities. The information below
proposes significant objectives and steps I will take to help individuals cope
with widespread challenges in their lives as a key to improving their attitudes
toward developmental conditions with positive changes in ways people react to
social behavior.
I learned from my psychology classes that
development occurs throughout the stages of life as we experience changes to
physical, intellectual, and socioemotional factors, beginning in infancy and
continuing throughout our lifespan. I am deeply interested in discovering how
the mind works in terms of positive and negative aspects of development,
especially the inheritance of natural talents and personality traits, life
events that trigger emotional regulation, coping with stress, and the capacity
to learn and change over time. Social interactions with peers and adults are a
major achievement of all children, as they learn the skills necessary to
develop positive relationships with others, no matter how they differ from one
another. I strongly emphasize that individuals who seek social support from
peers and relatives are more likely to experience less stressful situations and
have high self-esteem than those that don’t. In my opinion, peer interactions
should be developed by children with special needs in inclusive schools with
facilitation from special education teachers and speech/language pathologists
as well as personal aides and sign language interpreters for the deaf. As a child, my school provided me with
opportunities to participate in many classroom activities and build friendships
with other children in the same grade, despite my deaf/blindness. My aide was able to dictate the conversations
to ensure we understood each other. Someday I hope to conduct research studies with
a team of colleagues to determine the strength of the relationship between peer
support and inclusion among children with and without special needs. I see
myself conducting the type of research that analyzes data about how caregivers
and special education teachers facilitate peer communication among children
with special needs.
I
am also interested in helping families of low-income children obtain temporary
assistance from programs offering free services that give them access to
quality care and education. My focus may include scheduling client appointments
to discuss options based on their individual status. For instance, I could advise
families of children and adults with disabilities about resources they could
access and request funding for support services to maximize their independence.
I have also been considering additional positions in contribution to my career
that help clients make decisions about their future to achieve the goals and
solve problems including consulting and life coaching. These professions take
place in a one-on-one setting (either online or face-to-face).
My next goal in making life better for
everyone would be to support community development with opportunities available
for residents to integrate into society.
My intended focus would be inclusive education, adaptive recreation,
social services, and equal rights of all individuals from diverse backgrounds
such as race, gender, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, and disabilities.
In this approach to building an inclusive community, my goal is to work with
state and local agencies to create new laws that protect individuals with
disabilities, mental health disorders, and income inequalities from
discrimination. My hope is that one day I will serve as an advocate for the disabled.
I would provide dozens of resources to help disabled residents become
independent in the community, such as public transportation with wheelchair
lifts, employment centers, accessible housing, and therapeutic recreation
departments. Part of this would include
architectural consultation work to help design and construct new houses and
apartments with large spaces to be made completely accessible. I hope to also work
to create adaptive sports and activities for the physically handicapped to
become active in various settings, because most adaptive activities do not take
physical disabilities into consideration.
My plan is to present my ideas to school districts and county councils
on how to make playgrounds safer and more wheelchair-friendly, improve regional
parks and sporting leagues like basketball and soccer, and start adaptive swim
teams with pool lifts in place. I also want to be in charge of the program that
offers counseling services available for people with psychological disorders.
My
other objectives may involve helping high school and college students with
special needs make transition plans towards graduation by seeking resources to
become successful. The rest of my career
accomplishments I’m interested in include providing effective caregiving
services for individuals of all ages who need them. I want to be able to help the poor get free
child/healthcare and find the right people to work for them that fit their
specific needs.
