1. Self Reflection- What were some of the most interesting discoveries you made about yourself through the Myers Briggs and Holland Code tests? How has your planning for the future changed or stayed the same during this unit?
I found that my Myers Briggs personality type (INFP) suggests that I do something creative, artsy or less stressful, which conflicts my already existing career ambitions (Something in academia in History, or perhaps Law). However, my career ambitions didn’t change despite this, because I still possess a deep interest, curiosity and love for History and I want to do something in life that will constantly challenge me.
2. Self Advocacy- Professional relationships. Name two or three important skills you learned about maintaining positive professional relationships and how will you use them in the future.
I learned about the following imporant skills involved with maintaining professional relationships: addressing others with respect and consideration (treating them the way you would like to be treated), being polite and making sure to notify people in advance, and not being afraid to talk to someone older than you or in a position of power about asking for help or advice. I will use these skills especially in the work environment or in university, and definitely when talking with my EE supervisor.
3. Informed decisions- Thinking about your future 5, 10, or 15 years from now, what are some themes/aspects of life that you want to keep central to your planning? What are some key values that will drive your decision making?
I would like to make sure I feel fulfilled in the work I’m doing, and that I am in a place that simultaneously challenges me but also allows me to relax somewhere I’m comfortable. I would like to be in a place where I can satiate my curiosity for the world, engage with global issues, and feel safe no matter my race, gender, sexuality or identity.
1. Reflect on your successes from the first half term of the year. What things have you done well in terms of taking care of your wellness and academic growth?
This year I’ve tried to be incredibly conscious of time management and not overworking myself with the amount of activities and service that I sign up for. I know that the IB is more stressful than IGCSE, there are higher expectations of me and the workload is larger, therefore, I have tried my best to set schedules and a routine in order to successfully adapt to Grade 11. For example, I will practice the piano on a few set specific days, and those days are reserved for piano and piano only.
2. There is always room for improvement in everything that we do. In the second half of the term what actions will you take to improve your wellness and academic growth?
In order to function better than I am now, I would like to get more sleep. I probably don’t get enough every night (even though I might not notice it) so perhaps in the next term I should take note of the times I go to sleep and calculate the hours in order to ensure that I am well rested.
3. What have you learned about yourself in PSE?
I learned about using tools, scales and spectrums to map out my own emotions, furthering my own self awareness and allowing room for introspection in my daily life. This, in turn, has helped me understand, track and cope with my own emotions as they fluctuate, allowing me to accommodate other parts of my schedule according to my feelings, which has impacted the way I work. For example, whenever I feel overwhelmed, I like to head to a coffee shop to do my homework alone instead of at home, and I find that having a nice cup of chocolate and some cake as I finish writing an essay is oddly comforting, and I become a lot more productive and I have a lot more fun when doing work.
23rd September 2018 GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES CLASS What shapes my identity?
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Transcript: It is known that what shapes our identity are the things around us, our upbringing, what we are exposed to as a child, and nature. Each of these things have a large impact on who we are as a person.
Our parents have values and identities too, and these things affect their parenting methods. For instance, if a parent has a perspective that free-will is possible, then they may encourage their children to acknowledge their desires and make decisions. My parents are very motivated people. They like to push themselves to greater heights, perspectively individualistic, and this has passed onto me. I have high standards for my work and I always want to present my best efforts. My parents are also very accepting people, and they treat me and my brother as individuals, capable of making our own decisions and having our own responsibilities. This has encouraged me and my brother to explore our own identities, regardless of what society thinks. My brother can explore his more feminine traits, and I would say that today he is a very gentle and affectionate person, as well as fun-loving and playful. This personality is only supported in my household, as my parents have a very collectivist perception of the idea of family. We all support each other.
My family has been to many different countries, all of which have different cultures that have influenced my brother and I. Living in Britain, an individualist society, has also contributed to making me more individualistic as a person. I always set personal goals and look for ways in which I can benefit from situations. But I haven’t lived in Britain my entire life, currently I’m in Singapore, and when I was younger I also spent two years in Hong Kong. I feel that Britain is my home(?), despite the fact that I feel integrated into Asian culture here, which makes me and my brother third-culture-kids. Living in so many places has taught me about different cultures and has shaped my perspective of the world, and has made me more adaptable to change. It has given me an uncertainty about my identity, since lots of different cultures have influenced my beliefs – Singapore has taught me about respect for the elderly, and helping those who are less fortunate through service, whereas London has taught me to always stay true to myself and persevere.
However, these countries have very different perspectives when it comes to gender. In London, private schools are segregated by sex, and the two sexes are rarely mixed. This means that I had very little perspective on the male gender until I came to Singapore and an international school. These two schools also have very different ideas on what it meant to be a girl. In the London private school, in the subject called ‘Design and Technology’, we learned to sew, to become the feminine stereotype, but in ‘DT’ here at UWC, I’m allowed to work with machines and saws and sandpaper, a whole new experience for me at the time. This changed my perception of gender, I no longer felt like I had to fit the stereotype. My gender naturally influences my identity, as it was determined biologically by genetics and also because I’ve felt like a girl my whole life – this was only enhanced by my school in London, with the ideas that girls shouldn’t play rugby, or be very good at maths.
But my school in London was harshly catholic, and very homophobic. My bisexuality confused me, even when I came to Singapore, though UWC is more accepting than British society. However, I feel like my bisexuality is an innate part of me, just a fact about me and my hormones. I feel like I can’t change this aspect of my identity, I’m deterministic about it. It’s just a part of me, like my gender, however this could be determined solely by nature and not as much by nurture. (There are still a lot of studies about this, though.)
So, all these things and more have shaped me into who I am, and I know that I will continue to discover more about myself in the future. Thank you.
