Sunday, May 12, 2013

Blog 14: Self-discovery


After reading the final chapter in Corey and Corey, I am still thinking about the things I have discovered about myself this semester.  It absolutely has opened me up to so much self-exploration and discovery.  I am so much more aware of my thoughts and actions and it is comforting to know that I am not alone in any of my feelings.
Before reading this chapter, I was someone that thought dreams meant nothing.  They always interested me, but I never read into the subliminal meanings behind them.  I typically would only remember my nightmares and nothing else.  After reading this chapter, I became so much more aware of my dreams.  The last two nights I have woken up with vivid memories of my dreams and a much more detailed account of them.  Two days later, I am still ruminating on these dreams and trying to find meaning behind their bizarre story lines.  Fontana (1997) as quoted by Corey and Corey (2010), “dreams are our chance to eavesdrop on a conversation between our unconscious and conscious minds, offering us opportunities to understand ourselves better and achieve greater inner harmony” (p. 413).  Dreams are so interesting to me and I am looking forward to continuing to analyze my dreams.
As we are approaching the end of this semester, I am sad to see this class end.  I have looked forward to this class each week and greatly appreciated all the time we have spent with our groups. Although this class was not meant to focus on group therapy, I can definitely see how it would be beneficial.  It was so wonderful to be able to express our thoughts and feelings in these supportive and non-threatening environments.  Not only were these groups beneficial by sharing our own stories, but also by hearing about our group member’s lives and there personal stories.  By hearing someone else’s point of view and life story, it gave us such a wonderful new view of the world.  As counselors, what we have learned here will be extremely beneficial.  We will need to hear all kinds of stories from students and we need to be willing and open to actively listen.
In addition to the group work, the individual projects were also extremely interesting.  It was a challenging task to find a skill that we are willing to share with the class and then present on it.  I think the work that went into the presentation may have even been more beneficial than the presentation itself.  This project lead to much self-discovery and the paper forced us to realize all the growth that had occurred.  

Corey, G.,& Corey, M.S. (2010). I never knew I had a choice: Explorations in personal growth. (9th ed.). Belmont, California: Brooks/Cole.

Fontana, D. (1997).  Teach yourself to dream: A practical guide. San Francisco:  Chronicle Books.

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