Master of Social Work Degree:
Personal Statement Cover Form
Being able to extend my hand to those who really need my assistance gives me a sense of personal purpose; this is why I have decided to pursue my studies towards getting a Master of Social Work Degree. I foresee this particular concept of personal development as a sense of improvement in the manner by which I handle my responsibilities as a social worker. As a practicing social worker in helping the less fortunate youths in particular remote communities, I am hoping to increase my knowledge in dealing with people who have specific need about getting access to the services that I and my team provide.
Nevertheless, the primary reason why I got interested in the idea of extending my hand to provide the help that is needed by people who are less fortunate in the community, is the fact that when I was younger, my grandparents always reminded me to make sure that I am able to be of greater help to people who have lesser means that I have. They mention that this is the only way I would be able to share my blessings, to make a batter use of my life, to give my existence a better purpose bit only for myself but also for the sake of others. These words have been stuck to me all these years; and when my grandparents died, I felt the need to live through the principles of life that they have shared with me. As a result, when I reached junior high, I made it a point to become a part of several groups that have reaching-out programs. I made it a point that during my younger years, I would already be able to live through the life lessons that my grandparents left me with. With all the satisfaction I have experienced, I decided to take on such principle in living to a higher degree; I decided to take up a course that would let me further my career in making better options of living for those who have less of what they actually need.
Poverty is such a compelling subject. I often get teary eyed when I see people asking for alms and young children out in the street [as if living their lives without any goals or dreams]. Along with such truths that I have observed, I also hear several agendas from politicians who promise these individuals better lives; and yet, they do less than what they have actually promised to deliver. I feel so much for those who have nothing but such promises to hold on to. I realized that I needed not to become a politician, but a servant to the people, if I actually wanted to help. The sincerity of one’s desire to help plays a great role on determining the success and the value of work that a social worker does for the sake of the stakeholders he wants to dedicate his service to. It is with such sincerity that the welfare of other individuals become fully protected and addressed accordingly.
Through the years of becoming a part of my team, serving the less fortunate young members of several remote communities we are able to reach taught me how important empathy is in my line of career. I needed to understand what was happening to the people, to actually see the situation in their eyes and not just assume on matters based on what I know. I have come to know that listening to them when they talk is an important task that I must be able to accomplish as it will lead me to becoming more sufficient in taking the most comprehensive steps in determining what the people I am helping actually need.
I have constantly been interested in helping out the young ones. The reason for this is that I see so much potential from them. Being the ones next in line to take on the responsibilities of the older generation, I feel the need to equip them with the skills and personal development that they need to be able to take on such task. Sadly, not all the young members of the society are able to withstand such challenge. Not all are able to take on the distinct condition by which they are given the chance to develop what they know and what they can do. As I have learned through documentaries and research materials, there is presumably at least 67% of the young generation living within the poverty line. Being so, they are given lesser attention and lesser chance in determining a better future for themselves and their families. As a result, at least 28% of these young individuals get subjected to early pregnancy and early parenthood and at least 34% becomes involved in unlawful acts that usually put them in the middle of a troublesome situation. The consistency of these occurrences has caused me to take on the challenge of making a change.
I do realize though that I cannot complete all that I want if I do not remain objective and realistic about my goals. I am but one person, and through dealing with the living conditions of those I want to help, I realize the need to accept the fact that I need the help of others. This is why the decision of joining a team of individuals who have the same idealism as I do helped a lot in making me realize the fulfillment of my goals to give assistance to others whom I could give attention to. This realization allowed me to become adjustable to the situations that I encounter every now and then; both in the way I deal with my other team members and that of the people to whom we render our service.
I hope to further my work and I simply think that getting higher education from what I already have will make me a better worker and servant for those I want to help. I understand that to quality for such qualifying program, I do need to establish a particular pattern of behavior that would let me become more engaged in the personal development I am taking into account. Relatively, I think that among the characteristics I have that would help me in the process of gaining better accomplishment in relation to this course includes my self-sacrificing attitude which allows me to think less of myself and more of the welfare of others. Another characteristic I have is my compassion for the needy; I do believe that everyone has the right to a better life, and giving them the chance to realize such sense of satisfaction is more than enough to make it easier for them to deal with the different challenges life has to offer. I am also empathetic when it comes to realizing the emotions of others, how they feel about their situation and how they might want to be helped. Lastly, I am eager to learn. I realize that even though I have already incurred several experiences that prove my capacity to give my everything to my career and to the people I intend to help, I know that there is a lot more that I can improve about myself and about the way I handle my duties.
I also know that there is more to dealing with diversity that I have to understand. Although I know that I need to adjust to the different personalities of the people I help, I accept the fact that there are particular developments I need to incur especially in terms of understanding how diversity among people could actually affect the way I help the less fortunate members of the society, I desire to make change; but I would not be able to make such change if I would not be willing to see through the differences of each individual; and this is one factor that I hope to develop as I get the gist out of the lessons that are to be presented to be in the course.
Works Cited
Popple, Philip R. and Leighninger, Leslie. Social Work, Social Welfare, American Society.Boston:Allyn&Bacon,2011.
Payne, M. (2011). Humanistic Social Work: Core Principles in Practice. Chicago: Lyceum, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2005). NASW Fact Sheet. http://www.socialworkers.org. (Retrieved on April 15, 2014)
Keough, Mary Ellen and Samuels, Margaret F. (October 2004). "The Kosovo Family Support Project:Offering Psychosocial Support for Families with Missing Persons". Social Work 49 (4): 587–594.
Grobman, Linda M. (2012). Days in the Lives of Social Workers: 58 Professionals Tell Real-Life Stories From Social Work Practice (4th ed.). Harrisburg, PA: White Hat Communications.
