mimi009p
Feb 12, 2017
Undergraduate / Alzheimer's unit. Guidance needed in editing peace corps motivation statement [6]
Thank you all for your feedback, that was my first time through so I started a new one I know I still have far to go but here is an updated one that I am also revising with others too! Any ideas on things to remove , add or expand on are helpful thanks again !
At fourteen I started working at an Alzheimer's unit, I wanted to help people, yet was a challenge, every day trying to explain why they needed to shower, eat and the importance of taking their medication. I was met with resistance, shouting and pushing; during my ten years of experience working with the elderly I learned to step back from the situation, breath and be patient with them, to look at the situation in a different light. When I became a medication aid I remember trying to get a patient to take their medications, they refused yet he still needed his insulin, I stepped back and remembered how he was telling me about his parents, how he needs to find them, so we took the time to discuss his parents and in acknowledging his concerns I was able to give him his insulin. I learned patience working with the elderly and that in understanding how people think is more important than trying to change how they think.
I wanted to continue helping people and still do today; today I have been helping in the poorest Arab Muslim village in Israel with a high crime rate and violence. I came to the village seen as another outsider, the first time I stayed for a week, some people said hello when walking through the village, others shouted at me, and a few followed me around just staring. I felt alone at times, uncomfortable with the staring and isolated from the other people; I thought I would not come back. Yet I decided I needed to be patient, allow for them to get to know me and in order to do this I needed to adapt. I dressed appropriately, even in 100F weather, I wore long pants and shirts, I showed up weekly and when I stayed for weeks at a time I made friends with locals, had conversations in teaching English, took walks with them and found writing reflections over my weeks helped me deal with the isolation and frustration which allowed me to continue coming to the village for over a year and still today helping teach leadership skills in communicating through active listening, body language and understanding others.
Joining the Peace Corps to me means taking on a new challenge, being patience, communicating through active listening and understanding those different from me, enjoying the good and pushing through the tough and challenging times, living without the luxuries of home. It means not giving up when I feel homesick or tired, when there is no hot water or electricity. I will adapt to the environment that I am placed in because that is what I have done before and I make the most of my situations as best I can. These experiences have helped me realize the Peace Corps is the next step for me to help people and gain an understanding of cultures that will help me in the future in gaining a job helping others dealing with conflicts.
Thank you all for your feedback, that was my first time through so I started a new one I know I still have far to go but here is an updated one that I am also revising with others too! Any ideas on things to remove , add or expand on are helpful thanks again !
At fourteen I started working at an Alzheimer's unit, I wanted to help people, yet was a challenge, every day trying to explain why they needed to shower, eat and the importance of taking their medication. I was met with resistance, shouting and pushing; during my ten years of experience working with the elderly I learned to step back from the situation, breath and be patient with them, to look at the situation in a different light. When I became a medication aid I remember trying to get a patient to take their medications, they refused yet he still needed his insulin, I stepped back and remembered how he was telling me about his parents, how he needs to find them, so we took the time to discuss his parents and in acknowledging his concerns I was able to give him his insulin. I learned patience working with the elderly and that in understanding how people think is more important than trying to change how they think.
I wanted to continue helping people and still do today; today I have been helping in the poorest Arab Muslim village in Israel with a high crime rate and violence. I came to the village seen as another outsider, the first time I stayed for a week, some people said hello when walking through the village, others shouted at me, and a few followed me around just staring. I felt alone at times, uncomfortable with the staring and isolated from the other people; I thought I would not come back. Yet I decided I needed to be patient, allow for them to get to know me and in order to do this I needed to adapt. I dressed appropriately, even in 100F weather, I wore long pants and shirts, I showed up weekly and when I stayed for weeks at a time I made friends with locals, had conversations in teaching English, took walks with them and found writing reflections over my weeks helped me deal with the isolation and frustration which allowed me to continue coming to the village for over a year and still today helping teach leadership skills in communicating through active listening, body language and understanding others.
Joining the Peace Corps to me means taking on a new challenge, being patience, communicating through active listening and understanding those different from me, enjoying the good and pushing through the tough and challenging times, living without the luxuries of home. It means not giving up when I feel homesick or tired, when there is no hot water or electricity. I will adapt to the environment that I am placed in because that is what I have done before and I make the most of my situations as best I can. These experiences have helped me realize the Peace Corps is the next step for me to help people and gain an understanding of cultures that will help me in the future in gaining a job helping others dealing with conflicts.
