ASUNCION, Don Jerod B.

BA COM 1-C
0516 MWF 7:30-8:30
How has GSELF helped me?
Life as it progresses has a way of showing what we’re made of. Likewise,
learning to understand one’s self is one of the genuine gifts of growing older.
Understanding the self is the foundation upon which people build a life of health
and happiness. In order to make emotional, physical and spiritual changes and
accomplish goals, we have to know where we are starting from. GSELF has taught me
that.
When I possess a strong understanding of myself, I am able to understand my
reactions, decipher the responses of others and recognize the areas in which I could
use some positive development. Additionally, by the concepts and theories presented in
this course, it has been a means of being conscious about my strengths, recognizing
my talents and capabilities which boosts self-esteem, and reminds me of the positives
while facing some of the areas that challenge my life as I take on college life as a
Louisian.
This course has enlightened me to really pay attention to what’s going on in my
mind. To consider how I speak to myself. That voice in my head that responds to all
situations – what is it telling me? Is it telling me that I am strong and can conquer all
things, or is it focused on areas where I am challenged?
Moreover, understanding myself a lot better has contributed towards becoming a
substance for change, for growth and for all of the personal development that I strive to
accomplish. GSELF has taught me that I can work on self-improvement goals more
efficiently if I ways of discovering the meaning of life and unravelling the soul within.
For instance, Karen Horney’s psychoanalytic theory has surely been one of the
topics that left a mark on how I view myself. I was so #relatemuch when the Idealized
Self Image was discussed. It has made me understood how fragile incongruence could
lead to self-hatred.
If there's one thing I've learned, it's this: we all want everything to be okay. We
don't even wish so much for fantastic or marvelous or outstanding. I will happily settle
for okay, because most of the time, okay is enough. I am shattered but not entirely
broken. In which my self is not just an object of my consciousness. Rather, it is a
subject that transcends over my own sense perceptions and the lessons within.
This subject has become a good catalyst for my self-reflection and realization.
That I inevitably gain self-understanding through my relationships, which can be
startling mirrors to my strengths and weaknesses, my assets and insecurities. Studying
in SLU, for one, has shined a whole new light on my personal vulnerability. Harsh
circumstances or events may pare me down to a definitive core. Challenges test me,
and experience in general inevitably reveals more. Life as it progresses has a way of
ASUNCION, Don Jerod B.
BA COM 1-C
0516 MWF 7:30-8:30
showing what I’m made of. Likewise, learning to accept myself self is one of the genuine
gifts of achieving maturity.
In a nutshell, GSELF has motivated me to want to know myself better, to seek a
better understanding of other peoples’ reactions to me, a wish to boost my confidence
level and self-esteem.
Thus, I have been drawn to the conclusion that I am a drifter, and as lonely as
that can be, it is also remarkably freeing. I will never define myself in terms of anyone
else. I can view everyone as pieces of a whole, and focus on the whole, not the pieces.
I have learned to observe, far better than most people observe. I am not blinded by the
past or motivated by the future. I focus on the present because that is where I am
destined to live. That is where my soul belongs.
And lastly, let me end with this quote by my favorite author, Exupery, “It is only
with the heart that one can truly see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the naked
eye.” I am indeed a box waiting to be opened as my potentials are trying to burst out. I
want to unravel myself through time.