Strengths Reflection

Shaelyn Hairston

Humanities Scholar E-Portfolio

Artifacts

10/22/15

Strengths Quest Response

 

I honestly wasn’t surprised by any of my strengths. I always knew I worked best on my own and seeing that reflected on paper only reinforced that to me.

My top two strengths were deliberative and intellection, meaning I spend a lot of my time in my own head. Which, in all honesty, is entirely accurate. I’ve always had a tendency to avoid social affairs in favor of individual activities. Like reading, video games, sitting alone, in my room, pondering all the mysteries of life. Because of my solitary, quiet nature, I’ve been told I come off as unapproachable, and while that doesn’t really bother me, I prefer to think of myself as being selectively social. I don’t feel the need to socialize for the sake of socializing. If I talk, it’s because I have something to say. Which would explain two of my other strengths, relator and responsibility.

I didn’t really understand why responsibility was so high for me when I first took the test. I tend to be fairly responsible, but I didn’t think to such an extreme. But looking at my top two traits, it makes more sense. Whenever I’m in a group work setting, I instinctively take on as much of the burden as possible, so that I don’t have to rely on my partners as much. I don’t try to depend on anyone but myself. And with my relator strength, it seems to go hand in hand with deliberative. My cautious tendencies make me more critical of strangers, less willing to open up or share. I prefer small, intimate settings with people I can trust with my opinions.

 

 

Humans of OSU

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If you could to give you, at my age, one piece of advice, what would it be?

“It’s okay. At 18 there was a lot I didn’t know, and there was a lot I didn’t know I didn’t know. I was first gen, so first in my family to go to college and I didn’t know what that meant. I just, for me, going to college was my way out of my home town. So, I’m like, I don’t know what I’m going to get myself into, but I gotta make it work because I can’t go back home. So, I went into college with a lot of fear. And that’s pretty much how I operated, out of fear. So I really didn’t enjoy, especially not my first year of college because I was so afraid of them saying, like, you don’t really deserve to be here, so go on and just leave. Right, so I was afraid a lot my first year. So yeah, I feel like that’s would I would say, it’s okay. It’s okay not to know, it’s okay to figure it out, it’s okay to have fun. It’s okay to make friends with people that you don’t know. Like, not all strangers are bad. And then it was okay to lose the friends I thought would be there forever, some of those friends being family members. That, because they didn’t understand what I was doing. Y’know couldn’t support me, didn’t know how to support me. So, yeah. It’s okay, that’s what I would tell myself. It’s okay.”

My Premier Semaine at OSU

Shaelyn Hairston

ARTSSCI 2000.02

Fortman

09/03/15

My First Week at OSU

            I’m not ashamed to admit that my first week at OSU has left me with pretty mixed feelings. No, I’m not particularly homesick (it’s a little hard when home is 15 minutes away) or forlorn about campus life. I think I’m adjusting at a normal pace; I’m getting along with my roommate, showering regularly, eating sometimes, and even sleeping eventually. So, my behaviors from high school are carrying over. I’ve not quite reached the point of no return with classwork yet, so for now I’m okay. My only real fear is not being able to stretch enough.

I didn’t realize the full extent of my obligations when I applied for both msp and the humanities scholars, and now I’m starting to feel them. I’ll have to make tough decisions, choose one organization over the other from time to time. I don’t want to prioritize one organization over another but I know that keeping a schedule I’m comfortable with demands it. And now I’ll have to factor in time to work and participate in the myriad of other organizations I signed up for at the involvement fair, I’m already beginning to feel pressed for extra time. Does it give me anxiety? Yes. Does it limit my options for fluidity or spontaneity? Yes. Am I excited to see where these next 9 months take me? Ask me in a few weeks.

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

I am an English and Sociology major from Hilliard, OH. I’m currently considering creative writing, AFAAMST, and history minors. I’m a die hard cat lover, despite never owning a cat, or any other animal, in my life. I hope to spend this year making productive decisions and making contacts to better facilitate my long term goal of being a librarian.

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]