Stepping Back to Continue Forward A prominent feature of the social work profession is that it cares for its consumers as well as its professionals. As a social work student in my third year of BSW coursework, I have learned the importance of coming alongside consumers and coming alongside myself. Supporting myself means managing my personal triggers, biases, and burnout, which I handle by pausing to examine my journey and myself. Self-reflecting through quotes is one way I step back and look at my social work journey so I can improve in the future. I recently found an inspiring quote by the Catholic monk Thomas Merton who said, “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.” I relate to this wisdom
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This prompted me to analyze what my comfort zone entails. Before starting this class, I knew my Christian faith was a cornerstone of my identity. Thus, I knew accepting some of the political and social stances of the social work profession, such as marriage equality, pro-choice, and gender identity, was going to be a struggle. However, this class has shown me I have more identities that differ from consumers. I am a white, straight female whose story differs from others who have a different race, gender, or sexual orientation. My parents divorced when I was ten as I grew up as an only child. Even though my mother and I lived on a frugal income because of my parents’ separation, I have never felt the pangs of hunger in a warm bed. After undergoing conflict in my childhood with my father, I now enjoy a relationship with both of my parents, which is a rare privilege in today’s society. Another dynamic of life that does not influence some people on a day-to-day basis, but does affect me, is a lack of …show more content…
Identifying my personal comfort zone alone will not help my future consumers. Rather, knowing how my personal position collides with professional practice will offer the most insight into how to develop successful, empowering interventions for a consumer. As a white individual, I do not have to fight against obstacles in the housing, educational, or justice system institutions. In the reading, “Race, Wealth, and Equality,” Oliver and Shapiro assert that affluent African Americans still toil to receive mortgages with low-interest rates despite redlining being illegal (as cited in Ore, 2014). My family has not faced discrimination in the mortgage market because of our white privilege. For that reason, my parents had more freedom to choose where we wanted to live and where I would receive an education, which gives a person the tools to have a successful life. Oliver and Shapiro found that minority children who receive a poor education based on the neighborhood they live in does not support them in their “first steps up a racially skewed economic ladder” (as cited in Ore, 2014). The treatment of minorities in the justice system is also biased, which is seen in current events of police brutality. When working with minority consumers, it is important to remember my privilege in the provision I received through gaining an education built for
This prompted me to analyze what my comfort zone entails. Before starting this class, I knew my Christian faith was a cornerstone of my identity. Thus, I knew accepting some of the political and social stances of the social work profession, such as marriage equality, pro-choice, and gender identity, was going to be a struggle. However, this class has shown me I have more identities that differ from consumers. I am a white, straight female whose story differs from others who have a different race, gender, or sexual orientation. My parents divorced when I was ten as I grew up as an only child. Even though my mother and I lived on a frugal income because of my parents’ separation, I have never felt the pangs of hunger in a warm bed. After undergoing conflict in my childhood with my father, I now enjoy a relationship with both of my parents, which is a rare privilege in today’s society. Another dynamic of life that does not influence some people on a day-to-day basis, but does affect me, is a lack of …show more content…
Identifying my personal comfort zone alone will not help my future consumers. Rather, knowing how my personal position collides with professional practice will offer the most insight into how to develop successful, empowering interventions for a consumer. As a white individual, I do not have to fight against obstacles in the housing, educational, or justice system institutions. In the reading, “Race, Wealth, and Equality,” Oliver and Shapiro assert that affluent African Americans still toil to receive mortgages with low-interest rates despite redlining being illegal (as cited in Ore, 2014). My family has not faced discrimination in the mortgage market because of our white privilege. For that reason, my parents had more freedom to choose where we wanted to live and where I would receive an education, which gives a person the tools to have a successful life. Oliver and Shapiro found that minority children who receive a poor education based on the neighborhood they live in does not support them in their “first steps up a racially skewed economic ladder” (as cited in Ore, 2014). The treatment of minorities in the justice system is also biased, which is seen in current events of police brutality. When working with minority consumers, it is important to remember my privilege in the provision I received through gaining an education built for