I sincerely feel that counseling is a self-rewarding career that will strengthen my personal recovery and give me the opportunity to initiate a change in others' lives. This career path will enhance my clarity, taking me away from the self-destructive path of stagnation. That has been cluttered and fueled by drug addiction, trauma, domestic violence and incarceration. I have lived on the backside of society and understand the struggles of those individuals. I sincerely feel that it is my destiny to be available for those afflicted and to administer positive nourishment. These are the avenues where my life will make a great impact. .
This is my first semester of school preparing me for my goal as a counselor. Although I am highly motivated, I have come to realize that I lack the basic skills of reading comprehension and writing composition. The specific areas I need to focus on in order to succeed in school are my reading level and my comprehension. I must learn proper sentence structure. I must develop the ability to elaborate on subjects in written form. In addition, I need to learn how to type. These are the prerequisites to my extension in education. In addition to reading to improve my English skills I also need to work on my tending to procrastinate. In reading the textbook "Goin Home"" the exercise of doing a thorough damage assessment brought my awareness of the self-defeating behavior of "procrastination " to a more conscious level. I chose to do the circle exercise with procrastination as my self-defeating behavior because it is the activity I seem to find myself involved in, in some form or fashion. .
This exercise pointed out to me, how I would hinder my personal advancements, miss out on opportunities, bring about depression and continue to cause disappointment to family members and friends, if I continue these patterns. .
What stood out to me as significant elements in becoming a drug and alcohol counselor is the necessity for a thorough self-assessment.