Portfolio Reflection 1

During my time at Longwood, I have taken many courses that have dealt with different institutions, but the primary focus has been the institute of the family. A few of the courses are Marriage and the Family, Sociology of Family Violence, Family and Children Services, and Perspectives in Childhood and Parenting. Listed below are the three papers that I have chosen to represent my writing and growth through the institution of the family. In order, the papers are the marriage contract paper from Marriage and the Family my sophomore year, a family stress reflection and analysis from Stress and Crisis in Families my junior year, to lastly, a project reflection from Perspectives in Childhood and Parenting my senior year.

During my time learning in these past courses and reflecting on my writing, I feel as if I have been able to apply what I have learned in the classroom to real-life scenarios occurring in my own home and family life. Application has helped the learning process in my other family-related classes as well since they are all pulling from the same concepts, theories, and ideas. Comprehension through application has always been a skill that I have lacked and after reviewing my papers, I can see that it is now no longer an issue. My writing has also become more professional and grammatically correct. I used to put whatever I was thinking onto the page as the writing has progressed, it has become more thoughtful and can be easily read.

The institution of the family has guided my learning and has structured my behavior, attitudes, and beliefs over these past four years. First, it has redefined what family means to me by becoming self-aware of how privileged I was growing up. I never paid any mind to a situation or experience I had not been through before because I thought it did not concern me. That naive way of thinking has changed and now I am capable of viewing other family situations and perspectives while no longer taking mine for granted. With that concept in mind, the institution of the family has trained me to become a better advocate. My career aspirations are to be a victim advocate for victims of domestic violence and child sexual abuse. Learning about these families and what their lives are like have prepared me for the field and have given me a route to becoming a great advocate. Not having been through some of the trauma that my future clients will be going through would have given me no way to advocate for their specific needs. Courses such as Family Violence and Stress and Crisis in Families have given me insight from a perspective I had never had before. My beliefs have also drastically changed because now when I am presented with an issue of the family, I think critically and sociologically to find the root cause of the issue. In the past, I would just blame the issue on unrelated events when truthfully, I did not have the grasp or knowledge to think through the issue any further. I know also find myself asking “Why?” in many situations curious to know if specific family styles lead to a certain way of thinking or family violence, social class, and employment have affected individuals and their families. Lastly, the institution of the family has made me appreciate my family and all they have done to support me to the point that I am currently in. I have learned that without the specific opportunities my family has made available to me, I would not be who I am or capable of what I have completed thus far.