Week 4: Activity # 1

1. Describe a positive scene from childhood in detail. What led up to this event? When and where did it happen? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact did it have on you?

A positive scene from my childhood would be the time my dad took my on a bike trip on the C & O Canal towpath in Maryland.  We spent 4 days riding 80-something miles on the towpath and camping at sites along the way.  I was about 11 years old at the time.  I can remember thinking about how much I looked up to my dad: the outdoorsman/camping guru/nature lover who has been my inspiration my whole life when it comes to the outdoors.  I felt awesome riding that towpath with him, doing 10, 15, sometimes 20 mile days, and living on bare essentials.  We bathed in the river and ate Vienna sausages and tuna helper.  One night, I burned my finger badly and dad walked me all the way into the little town nearby to call my mom so I wouldn’t feel so bad.  This event has left a lasting impression on me because it was like nothing I had ever done before.  I am so grateful that my dad invested the time to prepare me for this trip and take me away to do something so unique and exciting.  This trip made me love the outdoors even more, and it began a lifelong love affair with my bike.  I still have that bike, and it still gets me places.  I have a new bike now, but that old Trek will never be replaced.

2. Describe a negative scene from childhood in detail. What led up to this event? When and where did it happen? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact did it have on you?

This is probably one of the single most vivid memories I have of my childhood.  When I was young, maybe 8 or 9, my mother attempted suicide via overdose.  At the time, she had been suffering with clinical depression and my grandmother was spending a lot of time at our house, taking care of my sister and I.  One evening, I can remember my mom emerging from her bedroom (that rarely happened) and stumbling into the kitchen.  She could barely control her movements.  Several years later, I learned that she had taken a heavy dose of sleeping medications, but not enough to be fatal.  At the time, I was angry with her for acting the way she was.  I didn't understand what was happening, and I didn’t understand what depression was.  I thought she was drunk, and I resented her for not spending time with us and leaving us with my grandmother.  This event is very important, because it inspired me to help children who deal with such issues today. I have found that I have a profound connection with young people who struggle with family issues and social issues.  I want to devote my life to helping young people overcome these obstacles.  Over time, I was able to understand why my mom was behaving the way she was.  She shared things with me as I grew older that turned most of my resentment into sympathy.  Unfortunately, the trials I went through with my mom have left a lasting negative impact on me as well.  A few years ago I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.  My doctor explained to me that my disorder most likely stems from having abnormal stress and anxiety as a child.  I attribute my mother’s depression, suicide attempt, and continued substance abuse to my anxiety problems today. 

3. Describe a particular event from your teen-aged years that stands out in your memory today. This can be positive or negative. What led up to the event? What happened? Where and when? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact did the event have on you.

When I turned 16, my close friends threw me a surprise birthday party.  Due to some strange circumstances, I ended up finding out about the party beforehand.  See, just before I turned 16 my first love broke up with me.  I was sad about it, so my friends decided to fix me up with someone they thought I would like.  This certain someone was not a match for me at all, but on the one and only date we went on he managed to ruin my surprise party.  He pulled a match book out of his pocket and said “Who is Bethany, and why does she want me to call her about a party next weekend?”.  At first I couldn't understand why my friends would have a party and not invite me.  Then it dawned on me, and boy was I mad!  I had to pretend it was surprise, but even with all that being said, the party was still a great success.  It was then that I learned my core group of friends were amazing people, and that I had chosen them well.  They threw a great party for me, and they supported me through many other transitions and events in my life.  We called ourselves the COF (circle of friends) because we would always gather in my backyard and sit around in a circle of chairs and goof off (sometimes doing things we weren’t exactly supposed to do).  I still get together with the COF every August.  I see some of them more regularly.  These people made me who I am today, and that is a WONDERFUL thing!

4. Describe a vivid or important memory from any time in your adult years. Again, this can be positive or negative. It can be about anything – family, work, whatever. The scene stands out in your mind today as being especially vivid or important. Please describe what led up to the event. Then describe the scene in detail. What happened? Where and when? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact has the event had on you?

 The time of my life when I met my current boyfriend comes with some very vivid memories and emotions.  We just celebrated 8 years together yesterday.  When I first met him, I was still living in SW Pennsylvania.  He was living in Preston County.  I started making the trip to visit him, and I immediately fell in love with WV, particularly Morgantown and parts of Preston County.  In the beginning of our relationship, my boyfriend got a husky puppy and named him Dude.  I have a vivid memory of taking Dude swimming at Bull Run for the day.  I snapped some pictures of him, with his giant husky ears and long awkward puppy legs, as he explored the rocks, sand and Cheat River.  I snapped a picture of my boyfriend with his new puppy, too.  That day, we left Bull Run and headed into Morgantown for the evening.  I ate at Black Bear Burritos for the first time.  I can remember sitting in a booth at the restaurant and feeling that warm feeling of a little too much sun.  I was happily exhausted from swimming in the river, having a few beers, and playing with a puppy.  All the while, I was building a relationship with someone I would love for years to come.  Those first days together, at the end of a hot summer, led me to live in WV and spend my life with someone I feel lucky to know.

5. In looking back on your life, you may be able to identify particular “turning points” – episodes through which you experienced an important change in your life. Please choose one key turning point scene and describe it in detail. If you feel your life story contains no clear turning points, then describe a particular episode in your life that comes closer than any other to qualifying for a turning point – a scene where you changed in some way. Again, please describe what led up to the event, what happened in the event, where and when it happened, who was involved, what you were thinking and feeling, and so on. Also, please tell me how you think you changed as a result of this event and why you consider this event to be an important scene in your life story today.

 When I first moved to WV, I was fresh out of college and looking for a job in the area of fisheries and wildlife.  This was right about the time that the economy was failing and jobs were not plentiful.  I ended up taking a job as a pizza delivery driver while I applied and interviewed for many jobs that I never got.  Finally, after almost 3 years delivering pizza, I got a lead on a position working with troubled youth.  I applied and was hired.  I attended a week of training and felt like I was ready to conquer the world.  And then I actually started the job.  I quickly learned that I was about to embark on a difficult journey.  For the first 3 months of that job, I cried every time I had to go in.  Not because I didn’t want to work, but because I felt like I was terrible at my job and it played on my anxiety in a big way.  It took a long time for me to work my way up to competence as a teacher/counselor for troubled youth.  On paper it all sounded easy, but working with actual kids with problems is nothing you can teach with a book.  I made many mistakes.  I am not sure of the exact turning point, but I became more and more competent until, suddenly, I was leader among staff on campus.  I learned how to connect with the youth in my care.  I learned how to genuinely supportive of them yet firm in my convictions and assertive with the rules.  The big turning point came in July of 2011, when I accepted a supervisory position at the facility.  Suddenly, I realized that not only was I GREAT at my job, but I was also trusted to teach others how to do what I did.  I loved that job despite the stress that came with it.  It is because of that job that I am pursuing my masters in special education.  I learned that I have a knack for connecting with kids, especially those who have behavioral disorders or histories of abuse.