What I Bring To The Table:
Everyone is unique and has their own set of skills and positive attributes that they are able to share with the surrounding community. I believe it is important to be aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses in order to effectively serve those around you and make a lasting positive impact. For example, I am not the best cook to have in the kitchen but I am a good listener when someone needs a person to talk to. That being known, I would do the most good participating in service that involves interaction and conversation with the members of the community being served rather than service that involves spending time in the kitchen and cooking food.
According to my StrengthsQuest quiz results, my strengths are adaptability, empathy, developer, input, and connectedness.
Adaptability: Being adaptable means possessing the ability to adjust oneself in order to readily deal with different conditions. People who are adaptable can quickly adjust in order to respond to a problem that occurs and are able to keep going when a road block occurs. I tend to think a lot about what might happen in the future and how to deal with different scenarios. I will be able to share this strength with others by remaining calm during a time of chaos and helping others to get through the challenge. I am able to provide comfort and reassurance to people when they most need it. I enjoy working with others to overcome challenges and helping them to view a hard situation through a new perspective in order to overcome it.
Empathy: I personally believe that empathy is my most prominent strength because I am constantly trying to understand how others are feeling and trying to get in touch with their emotions and thoughts by changing my view of a situation to one similar to theirs. I try to imagine what they are going through and experiencing. I have always been good at reading and sensing other’s emotions and feelings. Each person has a unique view and a unique way of interacting with their surroundings. I try hard to always be conscious of the fact that the way I view a situation is different than the way someone else does. Being empathetic allows me to give others the benefit of the doubt and understand that there are many factors which may cause them to behave a certain way. Utilizing this strength involves connecting with others and building deep emotional relationships. It is important to have someone to talk to when one is experiencing a hardship, and by providing a listening ear, I am able to help and make them feel heard. On the service trips and activities that I have participated in, I have seen the effect that a simple conversation can have on an individual. Showing someone in need of assistance that you care about what they are going through and are there to support them can create the sense of hope that is necessary to overcome any difficulties.
Developer: Those who are developers have the ability to see the potential in others and help them grow to reach that potential. Watching others change and grow is one of the most rewarding things to do, especially knowing that you were able to play any sort of part in that growth. My senior year of high school I participated in a new program at my school called Expanded Services, which provided classroom assistance to those with intellectual and learning disabilities. I served as a peer mentor in the program and accompanied a freshman student to the same class period every day. At the end of the year I was able to reflect upon the amount of growth that I witnessed within my mentee over the school year. I watched her blossom from a shy student who was hesitant to engage in social activity, to a bright energetic classmate who loved to talk and interact with her peers. It was one of the most heartwarming experiences I have ever had. I was able to witness firsthand the impact that encouragement, positivity, attention, and friendship has on the development of an individual.
Input: Input, unlike my other four strengths, is not about building relationships but actually focuses on strategic thinking. It involves the want to learn more and collect all sorts of new knowledge. In order to learn new things, one must step outside of their comfort zone in order to acquire new information. Part of why I love doing community service is that I get to experience things which I would not necessarily encounter in my day to day life. Being exposed to different lifestyles and communities helps to form a greater well-rounded outlook on life. It is important to view life from other’s eyes because it causes people to think about the world in a different light. People become more conscious of others and what they may be struggling or dealing with at any given time. Possessing greater knowledge allows us to connect with others through understanding and awareness of different cultures and lifestyles.
Connectedness: I am the type of person who likes to believe that things happen for a reason and all events in our lives are connected. As humans, we have a responsibility to be aware of our action and how they relate to the bigger picture. Every action has a reaction and we need to be conscious of the effect that our actions might have on others. I am constantly thinking about how something that I do might impact others and that leads me to taking action and participating in things that are geared towards the benefit of others. It can be easy to only think of what is in front of you, but it is important to know that there are so many other people in the world and that they may not be as well of as you are. Although every individual is unique, we still share similarities with one another. The largest of those similarities being that we are all a part of humankind and each person is just as important as the next.
Everyone is unique and has their own set of skills and positive attributes that they are able to share with the surrounding community. I believe it is important to be aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses in order to effectively serve those around you and make a lasting positive impact. For example, I am not the best cook to have in the kitchen but I am a good listener when someone needs a person to talk to. That being known, I would do the most good participating in service that involves interaction and conversation with the members of the community being served rather than service that involves spending time in the kitchen and cooking food.
According to my StrengthsQuest quiz results, my strengths are adaptability, empathy, developer, input, and connectedness.
Adaptability: Being adaptable means possessing the ability to adjust oneself in order to readily deal with different conditions. People who are adaptable can quickly adjust in order to respond to a problem that occurs and are able to keep going when a road block occurs. I tend to think a lot about what might happen in the future and how to deal with different scenarios. I will be able to share this strength with others by remaining calm during a time of chaos and helping others to get through the challenge. I am able to provide comfort and reassurance to people when they most need it. I enjoy working with others to overcome challenges and helping them to view a hard situation through a new perspective in order to overcome it.
Empathy: I personally believe that empathy is my most prominent strength because I am constantly trying to understand how others are feeling and trying to get in touch with their emotions and thoughts by changing my view of a situation to one similar to theirs. I try to imagine what they are going through and experiencing. I have always been good at reading and sensing other’s emotions and feelings. Each person has a unique view and a unique way of interacting with their surroundings. I try hard to always be conscious of the fact that the way I view a situation is different than the way someone else does. Being empathetic allows me to give others the benefit of the doubt and understand that there are many factors which may cause them to behave a certain way. Utilizing this strength involves connecting with others and building deep emotional relationships. It is important to have someone to talk to when one is experiencing a hardship, and by providing a listening ear, I am able to help and make them feel heard. On the service trips and activities that I have participated in, I have seen the effect that a simple conversation can have on an individual. Showing someone in need of assistance that you care about what they are going through and are there to support them can create the sense of hope that is necessary to overcome any difficulties.
Developer: Those who are developers have the ability to see the potential in others and help them grow to reach that potential. Watching others change and grow is one of the most rewarding things to do, especially knowing that you were able to play any sort of part in that growth. My senior year of high school I participated in a new program at my school called Expanded Services, which provided classroom assistance to those with intellectual and learning disabilities. I served as a peer mentor in the program and accompanied a freshman student to the same class period every day. At the end of the year I was able to reflect upon the amount of growth that I witnessed within my mentee over the school year. I watched her blossom from a shy student who was hesitant to engage in social activity, to a bright energetic classmate who loved to talk and interact with her peers. It was one of the most heartwarming experiences I have ever had. I was able to witness firsthand the impact that encouragement, positivity, attention, and friendship has on the development of an individual.
Input: Input, unlike my other four strengths, is not about building relationships but actually focuses on strategic thinking. It involves the want to learn more and collect all sorts of new knowledge. In order to learn new things, one must step outside of their comfort zone in order to acquire new information. Part of why I love doing community service is that I get to experience things which I would not necessarily encounter in my day to day life. Being exposed to different lifestyles and communities helps to form a greater well-rounded outlook on life. It is important to view life from other’s eyes because it causes people to think about the world in a different light. People become more conscious of others and what they may be struggling or dealing with at any given time. Possessing greater knowledge allows us to connect with others through understanding and awareness of different cultures and lifestyles.
Connectedness: I am the type of person who likes to believe that things happen for a reason and all events in our lives are connected. As humans, we have a responsibility to be aware of our action and how they relate to the bigger picture. Every action has a reaction and we need to be conscious of the effect that our actions might have on others. I am constantly thinking about how something that I do might impact others and that leads me to taking action and participating in things that are geared towards the benefit of others. It can be easy to only think of what is in front of you, but it is important to know that there are so many other people in the world and that they may not be as well of as you are. Although every individual is unique, we still share similarities with one another. The largest of those similarities being that we are all a part of humankind and each person is just as important as the next.