Personal Narrative- Election Week

           “That’s the last one,” I exclaimed as I stepped back to look at the fresh paper hanging from the wall.  As I spanned Layton High commons I saw that my name covered the area just like wall paper.  Among my campaign posters were various others all rooting against mine, but to me, mine looked amazing.

            “It looks great Han,” my mom replied while picking up the tape and other supplies.  “I’ll be back in an hour to watch your skit.

            It was the end of junior year and I had looked to this day for quiet sometime now.  I was currently junior vice president, but elections for student body officers, SBOs, were finally here for next year.  Running for student body officer seemed scarier than running for junior vice president.  Perhaps it was because SBO elections were in front of the whole school, not just the junior class.   Mixed emotions ran through me.  I was excited because I wanted to be an SBO, however I was more nervous.  I was nervous to put myself out in front of the school and ask for their vote. I was nervous to run against my friends, and more than anything I was nervous to face rejection. 

            “Hannah Jackson,” rang through my ears as the announcer let my name bellow out through the auditorium.  It was my turn.  As the skit panned out everything went according to plan. My lovely friends, who were in my skit, all said the right words and did exactly what they were told.  This year I had a sumo wrestler theme.  Not only did I feel like two of my friends fighting in sumo suits would appeal to entertaining the crowd, but I also felt like it was unique and would stand out.

            “Great job guys, thanks so much for helping me out,” I said as soon as we exited the stage.  In my head I mentally checked off skit on my things left to do.  Now all I could do was wait for people to vote. 

            The week of campaigning is always the worst due to the fact that you have to constantly ask people to vote for you.  There are a percentage of kids who genuinely care, however there is also a large proportion of kids who could care less.  This is a challenge in its self to get people to vote for you. 

            Although there are times I feel insecure, I still roam Layton High commons for the next three days with a demeanor full of excitement, exuberance, and full of energy.    I am dressed in a bright yellow shirt with “Vote Hannah” typed, and ironed cleanly to the chest.  Getting people to remember your name is very important. 

            As the week finally roles by it is time to hear the results.  All of the candidates sit across each other.  I try to make casual conversation but it is hard to hear over the loud pulse of my blood pumping through my veins.  Nerves completely take over, and all I can think about is how bad I want this.   I want it so bad, I can barely sit still.  I wait for what seems like forever until I see the white envelop appear held tightly in Chris’, the current SBO executive, hands.

It is down to me and Melissa, my opponent.  As Chris clears his voice I don’t pay attention to anything until he starts reading names.  This was the moment I had been waiting for.

“Our next Student Body Vice President will be Melissa.” Chris states.  

            “Congratulations,” escapes my lips as I stand to escape the room that is closing in on me. I act happy for my friends and peers who made it, but on the inside disappointment is clawing at me.  The reality sets in as I realize all of my hard work was for nothing.  My want of being SBO vice president was all in vain.    As I run to the bathroom, hot tears of grief burn down my cheeks as I gasp for the air that seems impossible to find.  In the back of my mind I know there are always senior class elections coming up, but I recoil at the thought of having to face campaigning all over again.  I did not want to feel any more pain or rejection.  

Devastation and humiliation welled inside my heart for the next few weeks.  I felt I was a public failure and I hated it.  When I walked down the halls I felt as if people were labeling me as “the girl who didn’t make it.”  All I wanted to do was be alone, and get away from the halls of Layton High that seemed to hold me in like a prison. 

As devastation and grief still clung to me, one day I was thinking.  Thinking and ponder about my life and who/what I wanted to be.  I knew what I needed to do. The next day I walked into the office, and began scanning the hand outs until my eyes caught sight of a bright blue one.  I grabbed the perfectly pressed paper and walked out.

“Hello, my name is Hannah Jackson and I am running for senior class president,” I exclaimed as I immersed myself in a crowd full of my peers. “Would you mind signing my petition?”

“We would love to,” said a group of girls as they pulled out their pens to sign their names. 

Five Minute Personal Narrative- My First Time Driving Stick

            As I sat there looking at the newly printed paper in my hand, excitement coursed through me.  It was such a little paper that would one day give me so much freedom.

            I was 15 years old and I had finally got my permit, and I could not wait to drive.  However it was not just any drive that I was excited about. I was looking forward to driving my families bright green, look at me, V.W. bug.  The only thing about this excitement was the bug was stick. 

            My mom sat in the passenger’s seat and I took the wheel.  Having so many pedals by my feet felt very weird and foreign.  The instructions replayed over and over in my head. “As you release the clutch, slowly push the gas pedal in.” After a few times killing the engine I was off. The wheels sometimes screeched as I changed gears, but I didn’t care because I was moving. 

            My neighborhood is not the most ideal place to drive stick however.  The roads consist of hill after hill.  I had made it past all of them, and was feeling pretty good until I turned the corner and looked ahead. There was one large hill that inconveniently had a stop sign placed at the top.  As I halted to a stop, I nervously began to release the clutch and push the gas pedal in.  Time after time the bug rolled back and died.  My mom’s coxing words were not doing anything; I simply could not get over the hill.  All of a sudden hot tears of rage coursed down my cheeks as I realized, this whole driving stick thing was going to take a lot of practice. 

My English Symposium Experience

            For the English Symposium I had the opportunity to listen to poet, Wyn Cooper.  Mr. Cooper is a spunky man who loves poetry.  It was interesting going and listening to him read his poems because he would tell about the background and thought process he had while writing. Out of Mr. Cooper’s poems I found two very interesting; including one of the first ones he wrote, and one named “Frosting.”

            Although he did not read us the first poem he wrote, he told us a lot about the background.  He was in junior high and even though his mother was not dying, he wrote a poem about the death of his mother.  He gave it to his girlfriend who then showed her mother.  Her mother had connections with the radio station, and she ended up getting it to be read by a man named Garrison Keeler on the radio.  Although he did not tell his mom about it, she ended up hearing it on the radio.  Mr. Cooper denoted this as the beginning of his dedication to poetry.   Mr. Cooper also told us about one of his poems titled “Frosting.”  This poem is about Robert Frost.  Mr. Cooper has lived in Vermont for the past 21 years, which is also where Robert Frost lived.  Mr. Cooper relented how people ask him all the time about Robert Frost because they have both lived in Vermont. He sounded like it was a bit annoying.   He thinks Robert Frost’s work is great but he also told us a lot about Frost’s life that I had never heard before.   Apparently he had very violent tendencies.  In the long run it sounded like Mr. Cooper was not the biggest advocate for him.  So in relation to all of the questions and feelings Mr. Cooper had for Robert Frost he wrote the poem “Frosting.”

            It was very fascinating going and listening to Mr. Cooper talk.  Poetry is all so unique and can tell a lot about the author.  While listening to Mr. Cooper talk you could just see his passion and love for poetry which I found refreshing and fun to experience.  He loves it very much and has made it a life time pursuit. 

TOliEt PaPEr!!!!

photo from mikesflyingpigs.wordpress.com

This may be a silly blog post, but I have decided that the point is very significant.  That is why I have dedicated this whole post to the thing that inspired this thought process- toilet paper!!  However let’s start from the beginning.  College has been a huge growing period in my life.  Not only am I expanding my knowledge on subjects such as reading, writing, history, etc. but I am also learning to grow up.  I am learning to look after myself more, and be more responsible.  My whole life things have magically appeared where they are suppose to be.   There was always laundry detergent by the washing machine, food in the fridge, a dinner to eat, and toilet paper in the bathroom. 

These essential needs were always there for me. Now I am at the point in my life that if I want food, I must go to the grocery store to buy it.   If I want dinner, I must be proactive and make myself something. And strange enough if I want toilet paper I must go out and buy some.  This last one is something my roommates and I have especially been struggling with these past few weeks.  It is not a foreign sight to go to the bathroom and discover that the last white square has been used.  That is when I reminisce on all of those times the toilet paper has been there.  It is times like these when I look back at my life and completely appreciate the hard work of my parents.  So I just wanted to give a shout out to mom and dad, and publically thank them for all the times they have taken care of me and for all of the times to come.  I love you both, and appreciate your hard work!!!!

Social Work Agency Visit- Wasatch Mental Health

Dean Anderson is a social worker at Wasatch Mental Health, the second largest mental health agency in the state, in the Outpatient Clinic.  He received his masters in social work at Brigham Young University.  Throughout his life he had experiences that showed him that this was his purpose in life.  He now runs his own private practice and loves it.  Mr. Anderson gave a lot of advice to our social work class including how to cope, how to be self-aware, and also taught us what promotes change in a person. 

            Mr. Anderson began by describing social work as losing your innocence.  I had never thought about it so bluntly before.  He described how you are always exposed to a lot of emotional and horrific things.  He proceeded to give an example of how he had just barely talked with someone who had raped someone at gun point.  Social Workers are exposed to a great deal of traumatic things. Mr. Anderson then said that because of this factor you must have a healthy life style out of work.  It is important to find things you love doing such as being with your family, picking up a hobby, hiking, etc. and make time for them.  You must also leave work problems at work and not bring them home with you.

            His next piece of advice he gave us was how to learn to be self- aware.  To become a social worker, you must have all of your own personal problems worked out before you can be expected to help others with theirs.  To be self- aware you have to recognize your own feelings and emotions and not let them get in the way of clients.  He gave a story about his son as an example.  His son had received brain damage in an accident.  One day he had a boy come in who was about the same age as his son who had brain damage.  Mr. Anderson said it was hard for him to not take the father approach when deciding how to best help the client. But it is important that he and all social workers make professional decisions that are in the best interest of the clients.

            Finally Mr. Anderson discussed what helps clients change.  You cannot force a client to change.  Instead the client is ultimately going to have to decide that on their own.  He said forty percent of the time what is going on in their life is what causes them to change.  This includes factors such as family support, food, shelter, financial stability, etc.  The next 30 percent is relationship with therapist, or the influence the therapist has on the client.  If the therapist can be a positive support it can help a client out a great deal.  The type of therapy used such as cognitive provides a fifteen percent change.  The last fifteen percent is a placebo.  These factors are all influential factors that help a client want to change.

            Going and listening to Dean Anderson talk was very educational.  He is a very smart and experienced man that had a lot of great advice.  His suggestions on how to cope, and teaching us the importance of being self-aware, and what helps a client change are all great advice when studying about the profession of social work. 

The Finished Product!!

The Effects War Imposes on Children Other Than Death

          As Jonah and his brother Benjamin head home from getting water from a nearby lake, they joke around about how Jonah had almost dropped his water when he had stumbled over a rock.  They continue their fast pace however because they know it is getting dark soon and their mother is going to get upset if they are out after dark.  They know it is not safe, especially at night because of the nearby soldiers patrolling.  As they approach the house they can sense something is wrong.  Just then they hear an explosions followed by blood curdling screams.  As they go over the hill they see their house and their neighbors’ houses lit up in flames.  They hear gun shots, and see dead bodies scattered across the floor, one of which is their mothers. 

Across the world in Prescott, Arizona, Stacy is coming home from work. It had been a long day and she is excited to relax.  She gets out of her ford fusion and walks into a place she calls home; a place consisting of heat and air conditioning, cupboards full of food, running water, and a safe environment.  She grabs her remote and turns on your flat screen TV to watch the news. As she props her feet up on the coffee table, she sees images flash before her eyes of stranger’s faces that, while she was at work, lost their lives fighting.  She learns of the tragic accident in a small city on the other side of the world.  Stacy continues to learn that aside from the ten soldiers who had died, many civilians were killed in the explosion too. She feels sad for the soldiers and their families.  She also feels distress for the civilians, adults and children, who had lost their lives in the explosion.  The war was killing so many people, and she hated it. 

Stacy’s perception of the war is similar to the majority. The major affect most people think war has on people is death; the death of soldiers and civilians.  So when one directly thinks about how children are being affected, the immediate thought that comes to their heads is they are dying too. Although one may consider the most prevalent effects war has on children is the causality rates, when one divulges deeper into the lives of various children who have been affected by war, one can see that the trauma a child faces affects them a great deal socially, and psychologically.

Common Perceptions

Death is a very common affiliation with war, and it is true that death is a major part of war.  It is not wrong to assume soldiers, civilians, and children are dying because they are.  In the Iraq war alone over 3,400 soldiers have died (Bash et al. 232).  According to the United Nations Children Fund “more than 1.5 million children have died as a result of violence between the years 1990-2003 ” (Wexler et al qtd. by Bellamy paragraph 1). During Rwanda’s civil war over “300,000 children were brutally killed over a 90-day period” (Wexler et al. qtd. by Bellamy paragraph 1).  These startling numbers are not uncommon.  These are real statistics and hundreds of thousands of children are dying all over the world because of various wars and violence.  Therefore people are not mistaken to assume a huge affect war has on children is associated with their death.  However, the war affects children more than just by death.  There are so many other factors that are not always considered, and some people do not fully understand. It is important to know the things children face because of war, aside from just dying.  

 On the television and radio you hear of soldiers who have given their lives to serve.  You hear of bombs going off, and you hear of civilians dying.   Many people think of suicide bombings, land mines, or other ploys some countries use to get ahead in the war. Shalhoub-Kevorkian Nadera has explained the media as one of the reasons that explains people’s common misconceptions.

 “The tendency of Western media to offer more spectacular coverage that resorts to yet another story of the “child suicide bomber” or the perpetual images of children throwing stones or acting as vandals; in an occasional report, we might see a traumatized child. But these quotidian images rarely show children as continuing survivors of a historical legacy of occupation, displacement, and ostracization” (Nadera 1102).

The media’s portrayal of the role of children in war does cause people to frequently have their perception of children in war be skewed. It is obvious the children are affected by being killed.  But it seems that when media broadcasts stories about children, they usually screen the stories of children who are suicide bombers or “vandals” as Nadera would put it.  Although this does happen in some situations, this is not always the case for children.  Children are victims.  Their youth sets up their vulnerability to be used as they are taught, or forced, causing them to unjustly become part of a war.  These children who experience a life in war are affected a great deal by trauma that distorts their life.  This distortion is what sometimes leads children to be seen as either dead or a victimizer. However, if one logically looks at what these children are going through, they may understand how much the trauma of war has affected their lives other than just dying.

Social Effects

An obvious way children are affected socially by war is the loss of parents or caregivers. This among itself is a great harm for the child because of how influential a parental figure is.  The loss of parents causes a great deal of problems, one of which is causing a child to have to leave their home. Between 1985-1995 “12 million children have been displaced from their homes”(Wexler et al. paragraph 2). Children are than either put into foster homes, orphanages, relatives homes, live on their own, or perhaps they join the war and become a soldier.  This poses huge problems for children at various ages.  They no longer have a parent who is there caring and providing essential needs which causes a chain reaction of events. 

Children in war are more susceptible to malnutrition, lack of education, and also becoming active in crime due to the lack of good influences.  When war arises, children’s resources become limited.  Food can become scarcer, and if children lose their caregivers, food is not always easily provided.  Children are still growing, and need a lot of nutritious food to help aid them.  Malnutrition also causes children’s immune systems to be weaker, creating a larger chance for children to get an assortment of diseases.

Children’s lack of education is also affected by war.  Shauhoub-Kevorkian Nadera, an individual who actually got to go see the effects first hand in Palestinian children explains “the political violence has restricted children’s access to schools, and continual delays at checkpoints often force them to take lengthy detours to reach their schools- when they are able to reach them. Such restrictions…cause deterioration in the quality of education and increase the drop-out rate” (Nadera 1102).   Going out in public to go to school, is very dangerous.  Since “September 2000, 2,610 pupils have been wounded on their way to school, 245 students and school children have been killed, and 166 students and 75 teachers have been arrested”(Nadera 1107).  It is no wonder why these children do not put in as much time and energy into receiving an education as they use to, when at any moment they could be injured, killed, or imprisoned.

Children are also susceptible to becoming involved in crime because they lost a role model who provided a good influence.  Wexler explains that “loss of parents and the absence of social inhibition together with physical insecurity and hunger many lead children and adolescents to prostitution, crime, and social violence” (Wexler paragraph 6).  When children are young, experiences they have affect them for the rest of their lives.  Children are still at a “vulnerable” age and their experiences affect their perspective of the world immensely. These children’s whole lives could be altered to a new course all because they may have lost someone who was a good influence, or because they are filled with anger and hatred.  Not to mention the grief and loss these children will feel from losing loved ones. These negative effects change these children’s whole perspective of the world: making it very likely that these children will begin to make decisions that are illegal, violent, and self demeaning.  

However even if both/one of the parents survive doesn’t mean the child will be safe, and not take part in crime.  War causes people to act in all sorts of ways.  Sometimes the war affects parents so negatively their parental responsibilities are no longer regarded.  The need to survive takes over. In fact Wexler stated “natural instincts such as parent’s desire to protect their children diminish”(Wexler ie. paragraph 5).  There have been reports that show parents selling their children as soldiers or suicide bombers.  Therefore these children are still susceptible to entering into a lifestyle full of hate, crime, and violence.  Just because the child still has a parent that has survived, doesn’t mean the parent will be a good influence, or will be trying to protect them from a sad life style war can create.

Psychological Effects

          War affects children socially, but it also imposes a huge affect on children psychologically.  Most often children become depressed, or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. This is common in all people who have experienced trauma, but it is especially susceptible to children at young ages.  Due to the realization that these children have seen horrific things; dead bodies, death of family members, etc. it is no surprise that these children are psychological affected.

Croatian Medical Journal conducted a study of children in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The experiment was conducted in March 2002.  They used a sample of 186 elementary aged students who were living in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The children tested were mostly located in orphanages or a facility called SOS Children’s Village. The Croatian Medical Journal tested the children by using the Children’s Posttraumatic Stress Reaction Index and Children’s Depression Inventory.   One way they tested these children was by having them fill out a survey.  The survey consisted of questions that asked about their families, why they had to leave their home, if they were scared, whether or not they thought about killing themselves, etc.  Each of these questions would then be used to help diagnosis the children.

With these tests done results were assessed, allowing the Croatian Medical Journal to see exactly how the sample of 186 students was affected.  The study showed that PTSD is correlated with depression, meaning that when a child has PTSD it is very likely they could suffer from depression as well.   It turns out that 42 children met the “criteria” for depression and 51.6% were said to have PTSD.  Children in the SOS Children’s Village had the highest number of children who had PTSD.  This is very interesting because the Children at the SOS Children’s Village was said to have children who had faced the most trauma, and they had all lost at least one parent from the war. This shows that trauma is directly related to psychological outcomes. Children who had lost only one of their parents in war had a higher number of children who had PTSD, than children who were in the orphanage.   Children at such young ages rely a great deal on their parents.  When they lose their parents, especially in a traumatic event, it can directly affect them, causing them to have depression or PTSD. The lowest number of children who were affected were those who had not lost either of their parents.

 These facts not only correlate trauma with psychological affects, but also conclude how detrimental the loss of a parent can have on a child.  Lots of other factors contribute to psychological problems, such as being forced to leave ones home, or seeing dead bodies everywhere.  But one of the biggest factors that create such damaging psychological affects is losing a guardian.  As stated earlier in the paper it is clear that losing parents affects children socially, but from these studies done, it is clear that it affects a child just as much, if not more, psychologically.  This was proven in the study the Croatian Medical Journal did.   

            The realization of how much parental figures can influence children is what led to groups of trained individuals try and attempt to heal children psychologically.  These groups of mental health practitioners have endeavored to help children and their caregivers cope with the psychological stress by teaching the children’s caregivers.   Children and Mothers in War imposed an International Child Development Program, IDCP, on the Children in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Their main purpose was “to promote the development and well-being of young children both through parental involvement, support, and education and by focusing on the importance of mother-child interaction for the child’s development and healing.” (Dybdahl 1218). This goal and purpose is what led to IDCP’s work.

            The ICDP would embark on this goal in a number of different ways.  The main focus they had was to help teach the caregiver.  This includes the children’s parents, but isn’t exclusive just to parents who are related by blood; any individual who is taking care of a child qualifies. The first step the ICDP would take was educating the caregivers about trauma and how to help with trauma. They would also help teach the caregivers coping strategies to help them in the time of war, but they would not give them “traditional” therapy.  

            The next step the ICDP would take would be to teach the caregivers good parenting tips.  They would teach them how to create good quality time with child and create a warm sensitive relationship.  These are very important aspects of a relationship because if a child knows they have someone who cares for them and is really looking out for them, they will be able to confide and trust in them.  The ICDP did not want to just teach the parents to have “ready-made formulas,” but instead to have a real meaningful relationship.  By helping the caregivers learn how to have good communication, and healthy interactions the caregiver could create a more meaningful relationship.

             Children and Mothers in War’s ICDP and programs like it were very successful in helping children who had been psychologically affected from the war.  They helped the children have the means to heal, in a very harmful environment.  By realizing that the children are exposed to so much trauma and stress, the caregivers are really the people who can have a great deal of influence on the child.  By teaching the caregivers good strategies to create a healthy relationship based off of good communication and interaction, the children were able to heal faster and more effectively than they would have if no training were done.  Although this training helped a great deal, these children will never be exactly the same again.  Some of the things the war has done to them were so detrimental it is impossible to completely erase all of the psychological and emotional damage.

Conclusion

War is horrific and causes very detrimental effects on individuals.  Although many people die because of the war, there are many other influential concerns.  Children are vulnerable and are very likely to be affected for the rest of their lives.  It is important to be able to understand that children are affected in multiple other ways other than being killed.  It affects them socially with the loss of their parents; and causes malnutrition, a decrease in education, and a lack of good role models. It also affects them psychologically, causing depression and PTSD. War’s effects on children are so complex, and do not always provide an easy solution. Most of the problems that are created are intertwined, causing the child to be damaged in multiple ways. Just because there have been some interventions hoping to help the children, some of the damage that was done can never completely be reversed that the child faced socially and psychologically.  It is important to understand and be aware of these damaging affects, instead of remaining in an ignorant perception that war only affects children by killing them.   

Writing 150 Research Draft- Affects War Imposes on Children

         Although one may consider that the most prevalent effects war has on children is the causality rates, when one divulges deeper into the lives of various children who have been affected by war, we can see that the trauma a child faces affects them a great deal psychologically, socially, and environmentally.       

When a majority of people think of immediate effects war causes the main thing that comes to mind is death: death of loved ones, soldiers, enemies, and civilians.  This is a very common affiliation with war, and it is true that death is a major part of war.  On the television and radio you hear of soldiers who are have given their life to serve.  You hear of bombs going off, and you hear of civilians dying.  So when some people consider how war directly affects children, they think of how many children are dying as well.  Many people think of suicide bombings, land mines, or other ploys some countries use to get ahead in the war. This is one way children die.  But children also die alongside of adults and the elderly as violence breaks out. Sadly, war is killing many people and children. 

According to the United Nations Children Fund “more than 1.5 million children have died as a result of violence between the years 1990-2003”(Wexler ie.) During Rwanda’s civil war over “300,000 children were brutally killed over a 90-day period” (Wexler ie).  These startling numbers are not uncommon.  These are real statistics and hundreds of thousands of children are dying all over the world because of various wars and violence.  Therefore people are not mistaken to assume a huge affect war has on children is associated with their death.  However, the war affects children more than just by death.  There are so many other factors that are not always considered. 

An obvious way children are affected by war, is the loss of parents or caregivers.  If a child loses their family they must leave their homes.  Between 1985-1995 “12 million children have been displaced from their homes”(Wexler ie.) Children are than either put into foster homes, orphanages, relatives homes, live on their own, or perhaps they join the war and become a soldier.  This poses huge problems for children at various ages.  They no longer have a parent who is there caring and providing essential needs.  This causes a chain reaction of events. 

Children then are more susceptible to malnutrition, lack of love and nurture, and the lack of good influences.  These are all valid problems that are not always answered. Wexler explains that “loss of parents and the absence of social inhibition together with physical insecurity and hunger many lead children and adolescents to prostitution, crime, and social violence.”  When children are young, experiences they have affect them for the rest of their lives.  Children are still at a “vulnerable” age and their experiences affect their perspective of the world immensely. These children’s whole lives could be altered to a new course all because they may have lost someone who was a good influence, or because they are filled with anger and hatred.  Not to mention the grief and loss these children will feel from losing loved ones. These negative effects change these children’s whole perspective of the world: making it very likely that these children will begin to make decisions that are illegal, violent, and self demeaning.  There is no easy alternative to this situation.

Even if both/one of the parents survive doesn’t mean the child will be safe.  War causes people to act in all sorts of ways.  Sometimes the war affects parents so negatively their parental responsibilities are no longer regarded.  The need to survive takes over. In fact Wexler stated “natural instincts such as parent’s desire to protect their children diminish.”  There have been reports that show parents selling their children as soldiers or suicide bombers.  Therefore these children are still susceptible to entering into a lifestyle full of hate, and violence.  Just because the child still has a parent that has survived, doesn’t mean the parent will be a good influence, or will be trying to protect them from a sad life style war creates.

Contemporary Dance- Energy Qualities

Photo from Student Affairs Blog

         There are many different energy qualities that can reflect different styles, moods, and movements.  In my contemporary dance class it has been very interesting to learn about different energies, and to be able to dance them.  When I think about what energies explain my life I feel like they could all relate in one way or another.  However, the two energy qualities I feel reflect my life the most at this time are percussive and sustained.

The energy quality that I feel explains my current life at school is percussive.  With being in school you are constantly being pulled in different directions, and have many things that you have to balance.  You have assignments, classes, quizzes, tests, and you still want to have a social life and have time to relax.  Percussive movements are directed in different directions and I feel each movement could be a different obligation that is pulling at your attention.  Sometimes it feels like you could be going a million different directions at once and percussive movements displays this because each  movement is different, distinct, and sometimes opposite.

 Percussive movements are also sharp and prominent.  I relate this back to my life with school because you have to be on the ball and balance all your responsibilities.  If you are not sharp while dancing with percussive energy the whole dance will look sloppy.  Just as if you are not “sharp” in school (on time to class, working hard, taking responsibility, etc.) your assignments, work, and grades will begin to get sloppy. 

Percussive movements sometimes describe my life in school, but I also feel like sustained energy describes me as well.  Sustained energy is continuous and flowing.  This reminds me of my life at times because I like to go with the flow.  I like things to connect and play off of each other.  Sustained energy is one of my favorite energies to dance.  The movements are always connecting to each other, and each movement is a transition into another movement.  Sustained energy makes me feel connected to my inner emotions the most because each movement of the body feels natural and sometimes almost subconscious.  This is why I feel like sustained energy relates to my life. Each experience I have plays off of another experience because I learn and grow in new ways.

Energy qualities all are unique and express different moods. They can relate to our lives and the moods we feel.  Percussive and sustained energies are two energies that I feel can relate to my life. Although percussive energy sometimes describes my life with school, I feel sustained energy relates to my everyday life as well. 

Social Work Agency Visit- Child and Family Services

          On March 8, 2012 I received the opportunity to visit Utah Division of Child and Family Services, DCFS, for my intro to social work class.    DCFS has over five locations and their services are crucial in today’s society.  From July of 2010 to July of 2011 DCFS helped over 56,496 people.   Upon going I had the opportunity to learn about their purpose, the intake process, and some personal accounts Mr. Jenkins has had.

            DCFS purpose is to ensure that “children, adults and families enjoy safety, permanency and well-being from their partnership with the community and Child and Family Services.”  DCFS is a state- administered agency and is within the Department of Human Services.  They administer services to children 0-18; these children have been either abused or neglected in one way or another.  Their “mission” is help individuals live freely from abuse. 

            DCFS has what they call the intake process.  This is how they decide whether or not they are going to look into a case.  They do get a lot of calls but not all of the calls are legitimate, or have enough evidence to have something done about it.  When this happens they record the call in “SAFE.”  Every call ever made is recorded and kept just in case it is needed somewhere along the road.  However if a case has potential and is legitimate the case is opened and assigned a child protective service worker, CPS.

 CPS workers also have a timeframe of when they will respond to the call.  They call this timeframe a “priority.”  There are three different priorities.  Priority 1 is when “immediate” protection is needed, causing a face-to-face meeting to happen within the next hour.  Priority 2 is when the risk “of physical evidence” is lost and a face-to-face meeting is required within 24 hours.  Finally, priority 3 is when there is a low risk to the child’s safety and face-to-face contact is required within 3 days by midnight.   Depending on what priority it is, determines on how long the CPS worker will take to respond. 

CPS workers than begin an investigation on the case.  They interview family members, neighbors, the child, and other people who have direct information / knowledge of abuse or neglect.  After enough information is abstracted, the case is assessed.  If the child is considered safe, no services are necessary by DCFS.  However the CPS worker may decide that the child needs in home based services.  This is where the child who is at risk can remain in the home and have the services delivered to them and their family in the home.  Or if there is immediate risk to a child or a warrant is assessed to get the child out of the home, a foster home can be prepared for the child.

            Mr. Jenkins explained this throughout the presentation, but he also told of personal experiences he has had.  Whether he was discussing individual cases where he has had to help remove children who were victims of Munchausen by proxy , or of times when he had to personally show up to people’s houses to investigate the environment the child was living in (cleanliness, etc.)   He also explained how he assesses certain cases when a judge has asked him to retrieve more information about a court case. 

            By having Mr. Jenkins teach us about DCFS’ purpose, intake process, and personal experiences I learned a great deal more about child services.  It was very sad to hear about some of the horrific things innocent children experience. Unfortunately these experiences children experience affects them psychologically and emotionally for the rest of their lives.  But the hard work people put in, like DCFS, has a huge impact on helping children “live free from abuse” and neglect; ultimately changing the child’s entire life for the better. 

Presidents' Day Weekend

Presidents’ Day weekend was a very eventful few days.  Not only did I have the opportunity to meet a presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, but I got the opportunity to fly to Arizona, enjoy the outdoors of Phoenix, and soak up some of the sun’s rays.

 As soon as class ended on Friday my roommate, Kate, and I drove back to her house so we could attend an event with her dad before we left for the airport.  Her dad is a donator for Mitt Romney’s campaign, and Little America was hosting an event for Romney and some of his donators from Utah.  It was very interesting seeing this side of political campaigning.  This was the first time I had been to a political function and it was different than what might be broadcasted on T.V. 

There was a huge line of people waiting to shake Romney’s hand and get a picture with him.  When Romney arrived he thanked everyone for being there and for the support they provide.  He then began to take pictures with the groups of individuals in line.  When it was our turn I got the opportunity to shake his hand, and have him request for me to stand next to him in the picture.  As soon as the picture was taken we were rushed out of the way, being replaced by the next group.  There were a lot of people there, who all wanted to meet him, so there was limited time on how long each group of people could talk to him.  He probably stood there for hours taking pictures, which must have made his face sore from so much smiling! 

Immediately after we got our picture, we had to leave the event so we could catch our flight to Phoenix.  I was very excited.  I needed a break from school where I could relax and do something besides studying.  The next three days we got the opportunity to experience Phoenix in all of its glory. 

Kate, her dad, and I spent time hiking and biking.  We did a three hour hike up Camel Back Mountain.  The view was beautiful, and it was very fun for me because I could see the city I use to live in, Ahwatukee, off in the distance.  I hadn’t been that close to it since I moved when I was six. We also spent time biking around the city that was by our resort, Camel Back Inn.  Taking in the different atmosphere was refreshing.  Everything from the houses, plants, architecture styles, and temperatures were different from Utah.  Being able to explore on a bike was an enjoyable way to see Phoenix.

Due to the warm temperature there, the three of us were able to spend time at the pool as well.   This enabled us to get some much needed vitamin D and a chance to take a dip into the resorts’ refreshing pool.   When Monday finally came we stopped by a mall to shop a little, before we headed back to the airport and back to reality.  Presidents Day Weekend was overall a very refreshing, relaxing, and enjoyable weekend where I got to experience some very exciting things.