I think that over the course of this semester my scholars program has provided me with opportunities to develop personally. This being in the areas of personal emotion and how to regulate it. The first time that this really came to pass was the week that we had Dr. Maryanna Klatt come to speak to us during our weekly meeting time. She did a talk over over wellness going much more beyond physical wellness into mental wellness. She discussed topics of mindfulness and mediation which had been something that I had been interested in for some time. Hearing this topic from her and everything that Ohio State offered in relation to it made me realize that I was able to pursue this fascination here. It made me explore the different classes and minors that Ohio State has to offer and in the end actually made me change my minor all together. I ended up because of this meeting switching to minor in the biological basis of behavior as it would give me the scientific background as to how emotions work. This would in turn allow me to see and understand an important aspect of my life and enabling me to apply the knowledge I would be obtaining into my pursuit for mindfulness and emotional intelligence.
The biggest life lesson my involvement has taught me is the importance of genuine relationships. This was forged through the numerous events and activities we have all done together and how we as a program stress the importance of communication and leadership. The leadership class my freshman year was the first time these topics were ever introduced to me and over the course of the two year program they have time and time again rang true. I have seen how being a leader has affected my student organization involvement and how effective communication has allowed us, as scholars, to get through difficult tasks whether that be beating challenges at team building camp during welcome week or even when finding a phone that had been dropped off of a cliff. While these topics and moments allowed us a group to grow they really caused me to flourish individually. This being because these ideals forced personal growth as I was pushed outside of my comfort zones in many ways which I will be forever be thankful for.
Coming into DSWS freshman I was someone that was very sure of himself, one track minded and that only wanted to achieve getting to graduate school. I was in all honesty kind of self-centered but because of my experience in the program and how I have been able to grow I am now no longer that way. As I leave DSWS I am still proud of myself but in a different way. Before I was proud of what I was accomplishing academically but now it is because of how I am able to touch peoples lives and how working hard will allow me to better others later in the future. Now I am not only focused on school but how I can personally develop in turn allowing me to better be able to empathize and relate to others. Finally, as I leave I can honestly say that my goal is no longer about me but focused on others. My time here has changed me greatly and because of it I want to work to better others not myself and I will always be thankful for the personal change that this program has caused within me.
Cold brew coffee in a cave during the second year retreat