Still need your help!

Here is the updated version of my personal statement. COMMENTS! HELP!

Choosing social work as my hopeful profession has been a journey, along which I have had many incredible opportunities, unfortunate occurrences, and a few missteps. Each of these things have taught me something different, broadened my perspective, tested my limits and boundaries, and ultimately made me into the person I am now; the person who I believe will make a great social worker.

The only profession I seriously considered previous to falling in love with social work is American Sign Language interpreting. I had taken a few classes in high school and at Salt Lake Community College and was absolutely sure that I would become an interpreter for the deaf. However, once I started classes at the University of Utah, I became fascinated in the social issues discussed in some of my favorite classes thus far: Sociology of Gender, Social Welfare Institutions, African-American Experience, State and Local Governments, Intro to Social Work, Social Diversity. I learned so much from each of these classes. I learned of social injustice, power and privilege, sociological theories, “the system”, the destructive power of apathy, the healing power of empathy and so much more. These classes, coupled with my already present fascination with people in general, set me on the course to pursue social work.

American Culture emphasizes socioeconomic upward mobility; this requires a career path with more potential earning power than my father. This is the “American Dream”- upward mobility in the socioeconomic structure. As a male living in a materialistic culture, and more specifically, Utah culture, I am told that I need to be the bread winner for the family, the sole provider for a partner and kids. I am told that I am responsible to pay for clothes, food, house payments, car payments, soccer practice, tennis lessons, school fees, and a myriad of other expenses. The meager salary of a social worker would be slaughtered by the expenses if it were the only source of income. I have realized, however, that my job must not be a tool to feed materialistic impulses; my job will be something that I thoroughly enjoy doing. Working as a social worker will allow me to display my passion and talents; it would not be simply a means to an end.

Another issue that I had to take into account as I started to gravitate toward social work, was that of the content matter which would be dealt with while working as a social worker. I have been told in many classes about the high burnout rate in various social work professions because of the tough issues that a social worker is expected to deal with each day. I’ve had to ask myself questions such as “Can I handle working so hard without receiving instant rewards for the work?” or “Will I someday become embittered to the social issues and people I work with?” I have experienced frustration and tough subject matter in my work with the YMCA, The Road Home, in Ghana and at The Children’s Center. Although these opportunities have been temporary, I have had a small taste of the daily demands of a practicing social worker.

My decision to pursue social work has come from small epiphanies throughout an array of experiences that showed me that social work is my passion and must, one day, be my profession. One such experience happened in Ghana where I had the privilege to volunteer with the children living in the Osu Children’s Home. In an effort to escape the unrelenting African sun, I was sitting in the shade of a large leafy tree with Kofi on one knee staring at his hand, tracing the lines of his light skinned palm, and then pressing it into my much larger palm. Ama Foli was squirming on my right knee, attempting to squish my cheeks and harvest all of my sun-bleached arm hair at the same time. Kelvin was marching circles around the flimsy chair we were sitting in, singing his chorus of “Auntie Taylah, Auntie Taylah,” to the tempo of his marching feet. I looked over at my fellow volunteers and saw that they were in the same position, swimming in beautiful children’s arms, hands, legs, kisses, and hugs. Our objective as volunteers was clear: love them and treat them as children should be treated. Even though they were in one of the worst possible situations a child can be in, they had the basic survival needs taken care of. They had a foundation laid which supported them and allowed them to develop in an environment more likely to produce well-adjusted adults. They could cry without fear of giving away their position to someone who would want to do them harm, they could play outside without fear of a rocket, or bomb, or mine, or harmful substances ruining their lives, and they could simply be kids. Realizing at that moment that I was being instrumental, however large or small, in the overall happiness of these kids provided me with the small success that fueled my passion and sustained me day after day, week after week, and month after month. The small successes supported me on the difficult days and the heart wrenching days, such as when a new orphan arrived, terrified of his/her new life. The feeling sustained me the day I carried twin babies, no bigger than the palm of my hand to the nursery, orphaned because their mother had died. It even helped me on the days when I questioned my effectiveness as a volunteer. The small successes were key, and learning to appreciate them taught me so much.

I believe a good social worker must have a great deal of patience. Patience in the short term, as it applies to individual cases or clients, and also patience in the long term, as it applies to broader social issues. Social change takes an agonizing amount of time, and if one is not patient they will become spiteful to the cause they once fought for. Patience is a virtue of which I possess a great deal. It is absolutely a strength I posses. I have been able to exhibit and develop this strength in my work with children at the YMCA after school program, The Road Home Kids Book Club, and in Ghana.

Empathy is a topic to which I’ve given a lot of serious thought. I’ve written many papers and had many discussions on the topic of empathy. I believe empathy is such a powerful tool when employed correctly. It allows one to relate to the person in need without elevating yourself onto a moralistic high ground. My empathy has come from my experience as a gay individual growing up in the LDS faith. This experience has been difficult, yet incredibly enlightening. It has stripped me of the moralistic judgments I have cultivated throughout my early life. It has helped me realize that there aren’t bad people, just dire situations forcing toxic behaviors. A societal approach to social issues is what I have learned to be best.

I understand that an important commonality connects everyone in this world to one another- we are all human. And because we all belong to the human race, it is hard delineate or put people in boxes labeled poor, rich, black, white, gay, straight, man or woman. Everyone that belongs to this human race is equal. We all deserve to play on the same equal playing field. Although this equal playing field does not exist for a lot of people in our society, this should not hinder the fight to gain that equality everyone so fundamentally deserves. Social injustices cannot be tolerated. The status quo cannot be continued. I am reminded of the quote be Martin Luther King Jr. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This quote succinctly summarizes my motivation for pursuing a BSW.

This semester I have a class which requires a lot of reading from classic philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, and Thoreau. When I read the statement, “Everyone gets what they deserve in life,” I am reminded of the readings from these philosophers. This statement could be true in a philosopher’s world, because they tend to write of utopias where everyone is of one mind, working toward one goal. However, I am deeply troubled when I hear a statement such as the one mentioned above. To adopt this attitude of social Darwinism, where the smart prosper and the stupid lag behind, is to serve a gross injustice to those whose life has dealt a difficult hand. This thought helps neither the child living in an intercity, nor the illiterate adult, nor the single mother, nor the disabled individual. The only thing this thought does is justify someone’s apathy. This thought empowers those who are working for their own benefit and who think assistance to the needy be damned. Simply put, this thought is a poison and not applicable to American society.

I have had many incredible opportunities to grow and learn at the YMCA, The Children’s Center, The Road Home, The Bennion Center, in Ghana and at the University of Utah. Each of these experiences has molded me into someone whose passion for service oozes from my very pores. I hope that in this short space I have been able to convey the depth that my passion runs, and I hope that I have been able to convey that I am cut out for the rigorous challenges a BSW requires. I know that I will be a great and effective social worker one day. My strengths in the areas of patience, empathy and equality show me this, and it is my hope that I have effectively conveyed to you these qualities in myself.