A Time for Self- Discovery, Essay Example

Introduction

Studying at Kaplan University has greatly influenced my life. On one hand, I have acquired and mastered such skills as conflict resolution, problem solving, and critical thinking. On the other hand, I have improved the skills and knowledge that I possessed before entering college. I have reconsidered what time management and stress management and realized why these skills are necessary for career growth and success in my personal and college life.

Who Am I?

After burning the midnight oil while studying in college, I had enough time to develop and understand the skills and values I have gained throughout the college years. Having identified my individual style of communicating assisted me in creating high-quality and lasting impact on others. Being an assertive communicator, I am an effective listener and always express myself openly and honestly, while constantly checking on the feelings of others. Moreover, I prefer bargains and negotiations to conflicts and quarrels. Learning styles change the way I characterize experiences inside, the way I recollect facts and figures, and even the vocabulary I select and use. In my case the learning styles, which have proven to be more efficient, are the following: verbal, solitary, and aural. In other words, using sound, writing and speech, and using self-study works best for me. According to the Holland Code model, I was identified as a personality with conventional abilities, which stresses the importance of details, conservatism, and self-control. Furthermore, I value God and family as being the supreme powers that affect the world and me personally. Integrity and honesty are the vivid keys to success and building stones of any successful person, therefore, I consider these qualities to be extremely valuable.

Where Am I now?

Becoming a college student was probably the most significant and vital decision in my life and what is more important, I have never regretted this decision. College life has brought knowledge, expertise, self-esteem, and wisdom, which could be acquired anywhere else. Reading specialized books and listening to the lectures of qualified experts created a stimulation that encourages to reason, inquire, and explore innovative ideas, which provides a chance for further growth and improvement and supplies with an advantage in the job market over those people who have never gone through a higher education. Being a college student, I realize that I have a unique chance to acquire valuable knowledge and resources. Moreover, the associations, which I have collected during my college career, give me more options in the future job pursuit. There is sound evidence that in order to succeed in college, one has to possess high motivation and energy, well-built study skills, efficient time organization, and excellent test-taking approach. College success demands dedication and years of tough work combined with certainty about the significance of college learning. Having clear goals and setting a specific individual mission coherent with one’s interests and skills can be named as the main factor of excelling in college. “Careful planning and preparation will help you find success during your college career and beyond into your professional career” (Keller, 2000). Surprisingly, staying healthy emotionally and physically is another factor of having good grades in college and can be marked as one of my major strength. According to Keller, (2000), in order to your mind to cope effectively with challenges, your body must function at optimum levels”. Utilizing the counseling office, student health care office, and sticking to healthy food can easily contribute to the success in studying. Taking advantage of the college library is also a way of excelling in college, by means of utilization of its extensive resources and locating a quite place for self-study.

What Do I Want To Do?

There are hundreds types of jobs that require a Communication major. However, all of them can be divided into two main areas, each having several subfields. The two main areas are Community Journalism and Corporate Communication, which include writing, design, media, commerce and business as subfields. The position of a technical writer, which I am proficient in, as far as I have worked as one for five years, calls for experience in developing published documents and proficiency in Microsoft Office and Adobe applications. Furthermore, a technical writer is supposed to be hard working, detailed, able to meet urgent deadlines, and be a prolific essayist. A writer is responsible for revising manuals, developing new procedures and software applications, and work with other written information and data. Advertising copywriters typically work in a productive partnership with an art director to envision, build up and generate efficient advertisements. The copywriter creates the verbal or written parts and composes all the wording in any kind of advertising. The typical work activities of a copywriter include writing persuasive and original texts, working on several advertisement campaigns of the company at once, proofreading, and keeping up with the trends of the modern culture. My goal for the future is to create my own technical writing agency, which will give me a change to utilize all the skills and experience that I have acquired while working as a technical writer. Moreover, according to the Kuder Skills Assessment, I have a high score in Business Management and Administration, which will contribute to the well-being of my own agency. The skill of Education and Training is also important while building up a business, as far as I will have to instruct and teach the employees to do the job the right way in a professional manner.

Why are Critical Thinking, Conflict Resolution, and Problem Solving Skills important?

The fundamental meaning of critical thinking is the capability to receive information and generate informed decisions without being prejudiced by our own beliefs. Critical thinking calls for management of our own thought development rather than permitting it to take over us. Critical thinking skills give students the ability to not only understand what they have read or been shown but also to build upon that knowledge without incremental guidance. Critical thinking educates students that information and comprehension is not solid. Critical thinking courses persuade students to reason for themselves, to doubt hypotheses or develop alternative ones, and to analyze those hypotheses with facts and data.  As far as conflict is an unavoidable feature of life, the practice of conflict resolution is believed to be a chance for growth and modification in a work environment. On a more personal level, the capability of solving and managing problems plays an imperative role in one’s accomplishment. Problem Solving skills are closely linked to Conflict Resolution skills and can be utilized for the same personal, career and college agendas. “In order to resolve an issue, or succeed on an exam, you should apply the following three steps: understand the problem, prepare, and take action to resolve the problem” (Keller, 2000). Problem Solving techniques might be applied within the family circle, in the job environment, and in college, and serve to exterminate or avoid the problems that might influence the efficiency or profitability in any of the mentioned environments.

When Will I Get There?

“In order to be a successful college student and professional, it is important to set educational and career goals” (Keller, 2000) .My educational goals include graduating from Kaplan University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Communications. After I complete college, I will spend a certain amount of time writing an autobiography to capture the early childhood, high school, and college moments of my life for future generations, which can be labeled as my personal goal. My career goal is to open my own technical writing agency, as far as I have been working as a technical writer for many years and possess multiple skills and experience to take part in such an endeavor.

Conclusion

Completing a Communication course and getting a Communication degree is a good way to enhance one’s own communication skills, as well as to improve one’s ability to cooperate and interact with other people. Courses at Kaplan University are specially designed to develop new skills, such as critical thinking, time management, and problem solving. It affects not only personal, but also professional and college life of each student.

References

Keller, C.A., & McMillian, N.E. (2000). Academic Strategies.

The Importance of Critical Thinking. (2009, May). The Uncommon Navigator. Retrieved June 16, 2009, from http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/lane_wallace/2009/05/the_importance_of_critical_thinking.php

Ramsbotham, O. (2005). Contemporary conflict resolution. Polity