Nicohwilliam

Your reflection paper should be a minimum of 6 pages long, type-written, and in APA 7 style. You will be graded on:

. Thoughtfulness of personal reflection

. Description and analysis of your shadow box

. Spelling/ grammar and APA 7 style

After completion of your shadow box please write a reflection paper considering your family of origin. Start by looking at your shadow box and describing what is in your shadow box.

How did you depict your family of origin? Why did you choose to depict your family of origin in this way? You may want to consider:

· Who you chose to represent in the box?

I chose myself, mother, father, grandmother, brother, sister, and my deceased grandfather

· How did you arranged your family members within the box describing the relationship between and among family members. For example: are some members situated closer together than others? If so, why?

Nurse- represent my mother( mother was Registered Nurse); Oil rig-represent my father( father was a welder on the oil rig). My mother and father are together because for years it seemed that they forgot they had a child. There main focus was their careers. Therefore, I was with my grandmother , my mom’s mother. She was the one who raised me from a newborn until I was about seven years old. I would go home with my parents when my dad was home for a week. When I stay at my grandmother house, my mom will stop to see us before she went to her overnight shift. The picture with the lady and child represent myself and my grandmother. I was definitely a grandma’s baby. She took good care of me and I loved being at her house. My grandmother and I share the same first name.

· The items or materials you used to represent members, family dynamics, etc. For example: Do certain terms have special symbolism? Do the colors you chose have special meaning?

Picture with the kid and book- represent myself struggling in school (my parents were always at work. My father will be home maybe one week out of the month; my mother worked long days 12-16 hour shifts

Picture with the lady and child- represent my grandmother and I, I was closer to my grandmother than my parents when I was a young child because my parents were always at work;

10-represents how many children my grandmother have;

word faithful- represents my grandmother was faithful to her faith and God;

picture of bake goods and pots- represent my grandmother love to cook and bake;

In loving memory- represent my grandfather who died before I was born

Picture of the praying hands-represent my grandmother praying for her family;

picture prayer changes things- represent my grandmother’s belief

The word family -represent the importance of family;

the word thankful- represent how thankful my grandmother was for having a beautiful family

Fall leaves- represent my mother favorite time of the year;

picture of a family that prays together- represent what my parents came to believe

The words live for today- represent how my parents lived, day by day after realizing that family comes first and family is important

The family portrait of the mom, dad, and children-represents the family we became( my mother switched to a clinic, her scheduled changed to 8 hour shifts with weekends off, my father took a job at the refinery plant in which he worked 3 16 hour shifts and off on the weekends. This gave my parents the opportunity to spend more time with me and expand our family;

the words we are family- represent what my parents worked so hard for;

coach hat and baseball and bats- represent my dad became involved in the community and coached little league sports;

Team mom- represent my mother being the team mom of the teams we played with and the teams my dad coached;

Volunteer- represent my mother volunteering at my school and in the community.

Plants- represent my mother loved plants and gardening;

good times- represent good times makes great memories

· Where you placed yourself within the box in relation to other family members and how you chose to depict yourself.

I placed my self in the middle of my parents and grandmother. Picture with the kid and book- represent myself struggling in school (my parents were always at work. My father will be home maybe one week out of the month; my mother worked long days 12-16 hour shifts. During this time of my life I was sad because my parents were always working. I started to struggle in school because I would tell my grandmother that I did homework or I didn’t have homework. She didn’t check on it, she believed me. I wasn’t interested in school because I felt that my parents didn’t care if I made good grades or bad grades. I didn’t care because during that time they never was involved in my schooling. They believed because they brought me lots of toys and clothing I was fine. However, I really wasn’t because I wanted them to show me they loved me other than buying me stuff all the time. I was sad because they wasn’t pay attention to I needed them. However, my grandmother was my EVERYHING. She was the one who was involved with anything I did. She nurtured me in a very loving way just like she did her own 10 children. I was so close to my grandmother and enjoyed every moment of being with her.

After you have described your shadow box please reflect on the following:

How do you think your experience with your family of origin will impact/ influence your work with couples and families?

You may want to consider:

. Positive and negative influences of your family

. Experiences and influences that might strengthen your couple and family counseling skills/ experiences and influences that may hinder your ability

. Bias or prejudices you may have based on your family of origin

. Presenting problems than may be harder for you to work with because of your experiences with your family or origin

. Issues related to your family or origin that you feel are unresolved and that still impact you