Today I sit in my room typing papers that are due on fast approaching deadlines and I think about the parallels between my blogging and my work so far as a Social Worker, in my field placement. The connection may not be all that clear initially but allow me to explain. Both of these roles require me to form a sort of professional identity and create a new definition of “self.” In other words both require me to form a new sense of myself to portray myself appropriately to the people I am working with. In Social Work those people are my clients and my co-workers. In blogging those people are you --- the reader.

I have been seeing clients in my field placement and have been honing my skills. I have also been attempting to find my voice and create a style of my own. It has to be unique to me but still natural. To complicate things it must also incorporate the techniques we have been taught in classes and still include the natural empathy, compassion, and caring that help to make Social Workers effective. This is a daunting task but one that is important to becoming good Social Worker. Creating a new self identity brings with it a bundle of anxiety and a feeling of rediscovery as you attempt to find your new voice.

As I continue to write this blog for all of you I am also attempting to find my voice and to create another sense of myself. This self is largely defined by you. What do I think you would want to hear about? How can I write in an informative and enjoyable way for you? These are a few of the questions that enter into my head as I write these entries. It is in this way that I am attempting to find my blogging voice and create a new definition of self, at least as a writer.

As we continue on this journey through my foundation year in the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland at Baltimore I will continue to refine my sense of self as I continue to refine my sense of self as a Social Worker. Because growth is a process that occurs through-out life, I will constantly be redefining my sense of self. With this thought I am reminded of a quote by teacher, philosopher and psychologist John Dewey “The Self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.”

I wish you all peace and happiness.