Reflective Journal Entry #1 A concept I have grown much better at dealing with is accepting my own feelings and emotions – and it is something I had great difficulty with last semester. Last semester was the first time I have been independent and away from my family, and it did not start off well; I was going through middle of night insomnia and I had very low testosterone – an issue probably due to my lack of sleep – so I felt exhausted both physically and mentally. While my nature is to be positive and easy-going, I noticed my thoughts and emotions leaning towards a more pessimistic and irritable viewpoint. This was apparent to me when I was dealing with my roommate; while he is a good …show more content…
Like most people, I tend to make split second appraisals on individuals based on their physical appearance, tone of voice, or body language; for example, if a person was overweight, I would ponder if it was because he or she was depressed, uneducated on nutrition, or overwhelmed by life. While I do not look down upon people, I am constantly concocting stories in my head to fit the image that I am viewing, and although creating inferences may be a natural procedure, it is important that I realize that they are my own interpretations – not factual information. It is not only within my thoughts that these evaluations occur, for they are also present when I express myself. Basic comments that I thought were observational, such as “he is really strong” or “she studies hard” had more evaluation in them than I previously thought. While these examples may be innocuous, I think back and realize countless times where I would state an opinion, and not clarify it further because I thought it was observational; for instance, I tend to scold my mother for buying too many sweets like ice cream or cookies and state “you really need to stop buying so much sugar.” Rather than thinking I was pointing out an obvious observation, if I realized it was more of an evaluation I could have gone into more detail and express why I wanted her to stop buying these products – because the excess sugar is detrimental to her health and it worries me. There are countless conversations in my life that include these evaluations, and I now realize the importance of recognizing them providing further clarification, rather than trying mask them as observations. This communication skill will not only be helpful in my personal life in expressing my feelings, for it will also be crucial when forming connections