Strengths essay Humanities

Strengths Paper

Fei Zhutang

OSU Humanities Scholars

October 21, 2015

Strengths

My top five strengths given by StrengthQuest are (in order): Competitiveness, Restorative, Adaptability, Positivity, and Woo. These strengths no doubt play a large role within my life, and I am confident that they will continue becoming a large factor in helping my succeed in life.

To start, I have the trait of competitiveness. Competitiveness allows me to strive to become better by focusing on the good traits in others that I see and then applying them to myself. I see where others are better than me at, and it motivates me to improve myself from my current standing.

My secondary strength is Restorative, which allows me to figure out and solve problems quickly and efficiently. By drawing on this strength, I have been able to motivate myself to solve problems when they arise, instead of waiting and allowing the problems to multiply. This has allowed me to keep my life in check, as I make sure that there is not an extreme amount of problems in my life at one time.

` My tertiary strength is Adaptability, which has helped me numerous times throughout my life, and I am sure will help me in the future. Because I have moved around a lot in my life, this trait is very important to me, as it has allowed me to find common ground with anyone, anywhere.

My next strength is Positivity, which gives me a optimistic outlook on life. Even when I am down, I can use this strength to see the good in myself, others, and life. This strength allows me to keep looking forward and not get bogged down in sorrow and depression.

My last strength is Woo, which surprised me, but nonetheless I can relate to. I do enjoy the challenge of meeting new people, and that has allowed me to feel confident in myself. This has allowed me to build up connections, and can help me greatly in the future when those connections can come in handy.

My First Week at OSU

Coming to The Ohio State University is perhaps the biggest event that has ever occurred in my entire life, causing turmoil I have never experienced before. As in all tumultuous events, fear and nervousness pervade my thoughts as I try to adjust to the new and unfamiliar lifestyle. Although I have prepared for nearly two decades for these moments, I still feel completely lost in this new environment, as if I had just been born the day before with no experience in life whatsoever. Questions such as “ how do I live on my own for the first time?”, “ what do I do with all the newfound freedom?”, and even questions such as “ do I even belong here?” pop into my mind throughout the day. The endless river of uncertainty certainly is my greatest worry coming to this school.

Though my fears are many, coming to The Ohio State University fills me with new hope. I am excited to strengthen my understanding of knowledge I already possess, as well as discover new and unfamiliar topics that I have never known of before. Similarly, I feel the same about my friendships; I’m excited to strengthen my old friendships, and more importantly, build new and lasting friendships within the massive, yet tightly knit community that is Ohio State. The new dorms, new professors, new classes, new environment, new students, and most importantly, new opportunities excite me. I have laid awake in my bed sometimes for hours just pondering all that could be done while at the University, and i am sure I will have many more of those nights before I am done.

Humanities Scholars has been a home away from home for me, as everyone I have met in it, from the freshmen to the upperclassmen to Ben and Janae have made me feel comfortable and has allowed me to be who I am without fear of judgement. I expect to be thoroughly involved within both the communities of Humanities Scholars as well as Ohio State in general.

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.]

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

[Your “About Me” is an introduction and should provide insight into who you are as a person and a learner.  This should include a picture of you that is appropriate in a professional/academic context. This information should be continually updated.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio.  Delete these instructions and add your own post.]