Writing Feedback / Self-Identity Paper for Ethnic Minorities Class, I haven't been in college for 15 yrs [4]

Self-Identiy Paper

My name is Abbie Maria Dietz and I am going to tell you about myself using three main categories, who I am, where I come from and where I am going. Many life experiences have contributed to how I define myself. My concept of my identity includes both characteristics I use to define myself and those that define my affiliation with certain groups. I am a 34 year old, single white female of Scandinavian descent that is in recovery from alcoholism, attending school full time to pursue a career in Social Work.

I was born on July 3rd 1976, a day shy of the bicentennial celebration for our nation. This is a topic that has come up often in conversations about birthdays throughout my life. It is an association with patriotism that I hold dear to my heart as I have family lineage dating back to the Revolutionary War. I am the youngest child of a blue-collar, two child family and I grew up in a middle-class suburb of Seattle. As children my brother and I did not know we were "poor" but as I grew older I became more aware of the discrepancy between myself and my peers in relation to socioeconomic status. This difference in privilege became profoundly obvious to me when I attended college at Pacific Lutheran University after graduating high school.

For several years after my time at PLU I identified myself as a Lutheran. Today, I find many aspects of organized religion and teachings of the bible to be in conflict with science. I am a big fan of science; therefore I currently identify with more of an atheist perspective on creationism that anything. This topic however is one I plan to continue to study for my lifetime and am quite okay with the potential that I will never find a religious category I fit neatly into.

Currently, I am a full-time student at Yakima Valley Community College in Chemical Dependency Studies. After battling alcoholism for fifteen years I have found my path to sobriety. I am also simultaneously working to obtain my Bachelor's Degree in Social Sciences from Central Washington University. Upon completion of these two programs, I plan on getting a Masters in Social Work from either Heritage University or the University of Washington.

Although some areas of my life are currently "under construction", I have a strong sense of who I am, where I've been and where I am going. From humble beginnings, through addiction and turmoil, I have found the value of education to be at the forefront of my life and aim to make a difference in the lives of others through my professional work in Social Welfare.

Scholarship / 'I am a recovering alcoholic' - Scholarship [3]

ESSAY 1: (300 words or less) If selected for this scholarship, how will you use your education/career to enhance the lives of residents in
Yakima County?

Dear Scholarship Committee:
My name is Abbie and I am a recovering alcoholic. I have Major Depressive and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders. I owe my sobriety to several Yakima County agencies. I am on the road to recovery, intent on serving the community that saved my life.

I spent nearly four months living at Pathways Adult Residential Treatment Facility here in Yakima. Upon graduating in September, I was accepted to the Supported Living Program with Comprehensive Mental Health Agency. At Comprehensive I graduated Intensive Outpatient Treatment and am now receiving one-on-one counseling in hopes to move forward from the unfortunate experience of a being raped when I was 17 years old.

For eleven years following my first attempt at college, I worked in Sales and tried to hold it together. In 2009, after a divorce and significant loss of a childhood friend, symptoms of my Post Traumatic Stress syndrome surfaced. My drinking became my way to deal with the world and within a year my life had become unmanageable. With the love and support of my parents, who are retired residents of Selah, I came home to attempt to change the course my life was on. I am proud to say that I have succeeded.

I am currently a student at Yakima Valley Community College working to obtain my Associates Degree in Chemical Dependency Studies. Upon completion of this degree I will be working toward my Bachelor's Degree in Social Sciences from Central Washington Universities at YVCC. After that, it is onto a Masters in Social Work, through Eastern Washington University also offered at the YVCC campus. My goal is to give back to the community that saved my life by working with individuals suffering from dual diagnoses Ideally, I will return to Pathways one day as a Counselor.

Abbie Dietz