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ART FOUNDATION SEMINAR - Personal Journal

Kristin Jenson

Salt Lake Community College

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Content Page:

Chapter 1..................................................... p. 3

Chapter 2..................................................... p. 4

Chapter 3..................................................... p. 5

Chapter 4..................................................... p. 6

Chapter 5..................................................... p. 7

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Chapter 1 Journal Entry:

The concept in Chapter One that most interested me was Fear. In the book, it described

fear as an acronym for 'False Expectations Appearing Real'. It also explained that fear occurs

when you have reached the edge of your comfort zone. When you've reached this edge, you

begin to imagine all the bad things that could happen if you were to cross this point, and that

feeling can be paralyzing, or 'Freezing'. However, when you've reached this edge adrenaline is

also triggered and your bloodflow increases to prepare for a 'Flight or Flight' response. The book

suggests that when this happens, you can use this boost in energy as fuel to propel yourself

forward and take action. You should acknowledge the fear and why you feel this way, and then

use that knowledge to make good choices, challenge yourself to try new things, and possibly

expand your comfort zone. A saying I have heard is that 'Fear is not the opposite of love or

happiness; Apathy is'. If you have a strong emotional reaction to something it means that you

really care about it, and if you care about it, it's worth fighting for. Fear can propel you forward

just as much as it can hold you back; it all depends on your perspective.

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Chapter 2 Journal Entry:

During this Unit, we were assigned to complete and share our results from taking the

Sorenson Self-Esteem Test. My score was 30 out of 50 possible points, which on the scale equates to

Severely Low Self-Esteem. This result is interesting to me as I've felt I've grown a lot, and many of

the selections I would have once associated with are no longer applicable, or are at least less

relatable. However, this test seems to be biased towards Low Self-Esteem, as it's impossible to get a

score of truly 'Good' self-esteem, as the best score you could get is 'Fairly Good Self-Esteem'. I

believe the scoring chart is somewhat useless, as just taking the test itself gave me more insight into

how much I've grown as a person for the better, which is not reflected in the overall test score.

The concept in Chapter Two that was most interesting to me was the idea of Self Concepts,

specifically that there are different aspects that make up our perceptions of ourselves. The aspects

that affect our personal beliefs are listed as Social Identity, which includes the part of you that

interacts with others and provides a sense of belonging in the world; Physical Identity, which is your

comfort with your body, appearance, and athletic abilities; Mental Self, which includes your

cognitive abilities, capacity for logic and reason, and decision-making skills; the Emotional Self,

which are the feelings you have, experience, and express, as well as your level of control over your

emotions; and lastly your Spiritual Self, which is the connection you feel to something greater than

yourself that provides the basis for your values and meaning of life, and is internally defined.

Usually when I think of my Self-Concept I imagine dozens of past experiences as well as

future goals that define my life, but I've never really considered the idea as a few general categories.

It's a much simpler approach that is easier to understand and to define to others, which helps to

narrow down areas that I feel more confident about, and the areas that I want to improve.

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Chapter 3 Journal Entry:

My favorite thing we did for this chapter was the Meyers-Briggs personality test. I've been

meaning to do it for a while, and it was very interesting to find out my result of INFJ. I think it really

reflects the current focus I have in my life right now which is relying more on my intuition and feelings to

guide my way. I used to be all about planning which is more on the Sensing and Thinking side of things,

and while I'm still very analytical, I've come to realize that all my analysis has resulted in a refined sense

of intuition. Meaning, my intuition is usually correct. It's taken me years to overcome mental and

emotional blocks to realize this and be confident enough in myself to listen to myself and follow my

instincts.

More in line with my analytical side is the Personality Style test. I'm very much an owl; I like to

examine situations and determine how to reach the best outcome before acting. Even if my instincts are

strong and true, I don't like making assumptions and rushing ahead. Any action I take is cautious and

well-thought out. My personality also leans towards the Dolphin, as it's my goal in life to help as many

people as I can get over their hurdles and move forward in life. I want to help heal the deep issues that

harm self-confidence and determination, and not just stick band-aids over them.

Overall, this chapter was very helpful in narrowing down the strengths of my personality and

character, letting me know which areas I can improve on, and how to work with people of different

personality types.

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Chapter 5 Journal Entry:

This chapter covered Emotional Intelligence, which is something I care about a lot. I'm a very

empathetic person, it's very easy for me to recognize and understand what other people are feeling and

I usually have good intuition as to why they may be feeling that way. I've always recognized this ability in

myself, but only recently have I realized how uncommon it can be for others to truly feel empathy for

other, especially as clearly as I do. Empathy is a skill and a gift, and some people in the world just can't

comprehend how to relate to others that are different from them, or don't even understand the value of

Empathy. In this world, especially in this country, the culture is more "How can I win" instead of "How

can WE win". It's a self-centered attitude that can be very isolating and anxiety inducing. I really want to

help steer this world back towards a Community-based system, where we all look out for each other and

help when we see someone struggling instead of climbing on the backs of the downtrodden to lift

ourselves higher.

I took the Empathy IQ Quiz and I scored 36, Enhanced, on Social Emotional Awareness which

makes sense given my empathy. However I scored 23, which is low, on Emotional Management. I'm very

comfortable helping others deal with and work through their emotions, but it's still hard for me to be

open and honest with how I'm feeling, especially if it's a negative feeling that could negatively impact

how someone else is feeling. I hate making people feel bad, so sometimes I'd rather stifle my own

feeling in an attempt to spare someone else's. It's definitely something I need to work on.

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Chapter 8 Journal Entry:

This chapter dealt with methods of coping with stress and conflict. This is a topic that I'm very

interesting in as I plan on becoming a Therapist and helping people get through difficult issues in their

lives. I also currently work with people recovering from addiction and mental disorders, and it has been

interesting seeing how people cope with stress. Two methods of coping I've frequently noticed have

been denial and learned helplessness.

People who practice denial tend to pretend that the issue isn't as bad as it actually it is. They

may tell themselves that it's still within acceptable or controllable levels, and also downplay how

important it is. They may believe that something else is at fault, and displace blame. They could even say

that the issue is actually a good thing, that it's helping them out. All of these reasons allow them to feel

like they don't have to do anything which permits them to ignore the issue and continue down the same

path.

People who have developed a sense of learned helplessness tend to believe they aren't in

control of their lives and don't have to power or ability to gain control. It's a self-defeating method that

prevents people from even attempting to get away from a bad situation as they believe that they will fail

and possibly make things worse.

The best way to get passed both of these methods is to look at the issue directly and make

realistic, long-term plans to overcome the issue. You need to accept the situation, accept that you both

can and need to change it, and then actively work towards your goal while accepting that things may still

not work out how you planned but that you can always alter your plan steer yourself back towards

positive change.

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