The "going" has already gotten tough for me because of my extremely busy home life and the schedule my family has. However, so far, my kids have been my biggest encouragement. They keep checking on my progress every day much the same way that I check on theirs and they keep telling me that they're proud of me for going to school. It's been a big relief that they're so supportive when I'm blaming myself for making things difficult for the whole family. I suppose that the things that will keep me going are their encouragement and reminding myself that I'm going back to school not just to check off another goal on my list, but to make things better for my family in the long run.
Day 9
Teamwork is an essential part of most jobs and workforces. I'm a freelancer, but I still rely heavily on mentors who teach me about things I don't understand, or on people I outsource to who write codes, design graphics, etc. When I write, I rely on feedback from proofreaders and editors to pare down my writing to the most succinct, essential parts without drowning the reader in over-writing. Even in non-professional settings, teamwork is invaluable. Without my family pitching in and accepting some responsibilities around the house I wouldn't even be able to come to school. There's simply no way to get around working as a team. If you tried to do everything on your own, you'd fail because everything we do relies on someone, somewhere shouldering a bit of the work to enable us to perform the work we need to do.
Day 8
My courses for next term are IST120 (Computer Applications) on Mondays and Wednesdays and MTH131 (College Algebra) on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Day 7
Stress is not a really big issue for me. However, it used to be. I'd stress to the point of making myself sick because there just wasn't enough time in the day to meet everyone's demands and still have something left over for myself. I had a major wake up call a few years ago, and it changed my perspective on a lot of things. These days, I decrease stress by writing it all out. Sometimes I blog, sometimes I just free-think on a scrap of paper, other times I sully the pages of one of my journals with all the crap I just have to get out in order to go back to reality.
I really hate housework, but I notice that my stress level is much much lower when there isn't clutter lying around, when the furniture isn't sticky with little kid sugar prints all over it, when the walls look clean rather than like murals, or when there isn't a mountain of laundry stacked up. It's really worth it for me to put other things aside and just clean like mad for a bit if I start feeling out of sorts. Not only does it get the housework done, but I blow off some steam while snapping the wrinkles out of the clothes or scrubbing the grime off of things.
I relieve stress and detox from life in a number of ways, but probably the best way for me is just to physically exhaust myself until I can sleep and then wake up refreshed and ready to tackle another day and the problems that accompany it with a clear mind.
Day 6
My group for the group project consists of J, Derek, Bruce, and myself. We are focusing our project on transitioning from military to civilian life. We intend to take a look at the steps necessary to make the transition as smooth as possible as well as ways to help military members (and their spouses/children) ease into civilian life/workforces. We are each going to take care of one main part of our presentation as well as contributing in whatever way possible to the research of the other participants. My primary focus in the project is to research the transition from the view of the military spouse and family and ways to ensure that the transition does not impede the success of the family members. I am planning to write about the different services available to family members that can help with planning for transitions to different workforces, schools, and relocation issues that affect the family members of service (wo)men who are leaving the military.
This evening, Bruce and I interviewed Mrs. Sherry Determan who worked with the Transition Assistance Program in the military support system for fifteen years and now works as a career services counselor at ECPI. She was full of insightful advice and information. I will use much of the information we got from her to write my part of the project.
We will be presenting our project on the last night of class, Wednesday, May 21, 2008. Until then, we will be working individually with a meeting to pool our notes and ideas and practice the presentation.
We will be presenting our project on the last night of class, Wednesday, May 21, 2008. Until then, we will be working individually with a meeting to pool our notes and ideas and practice the presentation.
Day 5
The writing process for my individual project was more difficult for me than writing the things I normally write. While I'm rather comfortable writing what I feel, the compelled creativity was an uneasy process for me. I think that if the project had been about something other than ME, I would have been more open to it. At first I started writing my project on the computer, but there is just something about writing on the computer that stifles my voice. So, I took my pad of paper and pencil outside and sat in my garden for a while and within an hour I had nine pages worth of material for just the success and professionalism sections. I guess I simply needed to find my comfort zone to jumpstart the writing process.
My oral presentation was much the same. I stewed over the weekend about how and what to present and succeeded in doing nothing more than working myself into a nervous frenzy. However, once I jumped headlong into the presentation and let it flow into the parts of the project that I was more comfortable with than others, it went quite well. Granted, I was still nervous, but I managed to somehow find my voice while talking about some of the things I'm most passionate about.
Overall, I think the project turned out to be a success for me, and I'm glad that I've gotten the first of what I'm sure will be many such presentations out of the way. The first time doing anything--even if it's just doing something that you've done before in a new setting--is always nerve-wracking. I'm certain that this project has set the foundation for me to build on presentation skills and that the presentations I have to make in the future will be a bit less intimidating because I've found a few things that really work for me and know more about what will hold me back.
My oral presentation was much the same. I stewed over the weekend about how and what to present and succeeded in doing nothing more than working myself into a nervous frenzy. However, once I jumped headlong into the presentation and let it flow into the parts of the project that I was more comfortable with than others, it went quite well. Granted, I was still nervous, but I managed to somehow find my voice while talking about some of the things I'm most passionate about.
Overall, I think the project turned out to be a success for me, and I'm glad that I've gotten the first of what I'm sure will be many such presentations out of the way. The first time doing anything--even if it's just doing something that you've done before in a new setting--is always nerve-wracking. I'm certain that this project has set the foundation for me to build on presentation skills and that the presentations I have to make in the future will be a bit less intimidating because I've found a few things that really work for me and know more about what will hold me back.
Day 4
According to the Enneagram Personality Type Profile I am a type 8 which is "The Challenger". From what the profile says, Challengers are rather controlling and domineering. At their best, they use these strengths to improve other's lives and become heroic, and magnanimous. I can attest to the fact that I am quite a control freak at times, but generally I do try to use my strengths to either help out the people I come into contact with or to urge them to live up to their potential.
Also in the profile were some of my secondary traits. I scored high in type 5, "The Ivestigator" as well, and this is very true of me because I am pretty much insatiably curious about most everything. I tend to drive my husband a bit crazy because I'm constantly performing "science experiments". Most of the time, they lean more toward the mad science type of experiments, but I'm always investigating the outcome of something or digging for more information on different subjects.
There were a couple of other types that were very close to my main types as well. These were types 1 and 3. These are "The Reformer" and "The Achiever" respectively. Basically all these types together are very indicative of my personality, and I would say that all of this profile describes me very well and also indicates that I'm a good self-starter and could work well in the environment that I've chosen for myself and my career.
Also in the profile were some of my secondary traits. I scored high in type 5, "The Ivestigator" as well, and this is very true of me because I am pretty much insatiably curious about most everything. I tend to drive my husband a bit crazy because I'm constantly performing "science experiments". Most of the time, they lean more toward the mad science type of experiments, but I'm always investigating the outcome of something or digging for more information on different subjects.
There were a couple of other types that were very close to my main types as well. These were types 1 and 3. These are "The Reformer" and "The Achiever" respectively. Basically all these types together are very indicative of my personality, and I would say that all of this profile describes me very well and also indicates that I'm a good self-starter and could work well in the environment that I've chosen for myself and my career.
Day 3
According to the personality test, my personality type is INFJ which is introverted, intuitive, feeling, judging. From the description of this personality type, I can see that this profile is a fairly good indicator of my actual personality.
As the profile suggests, I have a tendency to be introverted--especially when I'm thinking about something. At times I come out of my shell enough that I almost seem extroverted, but once I've entertained people for a while, I close myself off again, even from the people closest to me. This isn't intentional, but seems to be the only way to regain the energy it takes to entertain or do any major socializing.
According to the profile, careers that would be good for me would be writing, humanities studies, web design, psychology and counselling. I think this is a fairly good range of career choices for me because it seems that these are my favorite type of activities. I do a LOT of listening to people's problems (sometimes I wonder if this is just so that I don't have to do all the talking), but I also love to write, study religions and cultures and literature. The career I've chosen is web design, so I guess this personality profile is very accurate in my case.
As the profile suggests, I have a tendency to be introverted--especially when I'm thinking about something. At times I come out of my shell enough that I almost seem extroverted, but once I've entertained people for a while, I close myself off again, even from the people closest to me. This isn't intentional, but seems to be the only way to regain the energy it takes to entertain or do any major socializing.
According to the profile, careers that would be good for me would be writing, humanities studies, web design, psychology and counselling. I think this is a fairly good range of career choices for me because it seems that these are my favorite type of activities. I do a LOT of listening to people's problems (sometimes I wonder if this is just so that I don't have to do all the talking), but I also love to write, study religions and cultures and literature. The career I've chosen is web design, so I guess this personality profile is very accurate in my case.
Day 2
My dream job is being a web designer/developer. Right now, my dream is aimed more toward freelancing so that I can work from home. I really enjoy being at home with my children, but that isn't quite enough for me, so I like the freedom that being a freelancer can provide me to stay at home with them while still keeping busy on the side.
Eventually, when my children are a bit older, I would like to start my own web design firm and employ parents who are looking for a more family-friendly career option than is available with a lot of jobs. Although my business would be a for-profit (of course) I would like to have a service dedicated to military members and their family where they could get a very low-cost customized website or blog layout to enable them to keep family and friends updated from wherever they are stationed in the world. It is really important to me to have a job that works to support families and community ties while also allowing me to participate in a field that I truly enjoy.
Eventually, when my children are a bit older, I would like to start my own web design firm and employ parents who are looking for a more family-friendly career option than is available with a lot of jobs. Although my business would be a for-profit (of course) I would like to have a service dedicated to military members and their family where they could get a very low-cost customized website or blog layout to enable them to keep family and friends updated from wherever they are stationed in the world. It is really important to me to have a job that works to support families and community ties while also allowing me to participate in a field that I truly enjoy.
Day 1
Hello, everyone! As I mentioned earlier this evening during my introduction, my name is Jennifer Wingard, but most people call me Jen or Red. I’m a 27 year-old stay at home mom with four kids who range in age from 6 years to almost 2 years. Although my family is my primary focus (mostly due to the fact that they take up almost every second of my time) , I have a lot of other responsibilities and interests as well. I enjoy a bit of gardening, cooking, and I love to read. I can generally be found studying something or other in any free moment that I'm not involved with a family activity.
I’ve always had a keen interest in writing, and still dream of writing the “Great American Novel”, however, a couple of years ago during a blogging frenzy, I stumbled upon web design quite by accident and the writing dream has since been moved to second place. I do still try to write on occasion, but most of my spare time has been eaten up with my obsession for poring over books on web design and trying to make sense of them.
I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to come to college and learn about web design and get a degree. This new experience will quite probably be more like a vacation for me than anything else. I’m really looking forward to all that I’ll learn here at school, but also, I'm glad for the chance to do some networking while fulfilling a high-priority personal goal of getting a bachelor's degree.
I’ve always had a keen interest in writing, and still dream of writing the “Great American Novel”, however, a couple of years ago during a blogging frenzy, I stumbled upon web design quite by accident and the writing dream has since been moved to second place. I do still try to write on occasion, but most of my spare time has been eaten up with my obsession for poring over books on web design and trying to make sense of them.
I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to come to college and learn about web design and get a degree. This new experience will quite probably be more like a vacation for me than anything else. I’m really looking forward to all that I’ll learn here at school, but also, I'm glad for the chance to do some networking while fulfilling a high-priority personal goal of getting a bachelor's degree.
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