Acceptance of Self 

Becoming a Social Worker requires a special level of compassion, humility, and integrity. Working in this field can bring issues that have been suppressed to the forefront. Working with individuals can bring upon memories of past experiences that may have caused trauma. Being able to remove yourself is a skill that is learned through experience. There have been times where I have felt as if I wasn’t worthy enough to work with certain populations. To add on, there have been many times where I felt like I failed, because I wasn’t able to save someone, they weren’t able to be serviced, or they weren’t ready to make the change. Through it all, I had to learn to accept that I always give my all with every client. Understanding and accepting that no story will be a success story has been a breakthrough in my career. I no longer allow the bad to outweigh the good. Learning to accept that I am great at what I do in this field is more than enough gratification for me.     

Acceptance of Others 

In the field of Social Work, I have come to realize everyone is an individual and no two individuals are the same. Another breakthrough in my career was when I was finally able to understand and accept that not everyone wants to be helped. In the beginning of my career, I struggled with accepting that there are people who are content with their circumstances. I have had several discussions with previous supervisors and colleagues about the struggles I have encountered with wanting to work a person’s treatment more than they do. I had to accept that when they are ready, they will begin to make the necessary steps in the right direction. Along with learning to accept others for where they are in the process has made doing this work more rewarding. Understanding that we have to meet the person where they are and accepting that it takes time has made this journey worth it.