Bullying Self Evaluation Essay

Introduction

This paper covers certain life events that were presented during different stages in my development and shaped me to become the person I am today. The six dimensions of the wellness wheel are presented in this paper, which are Spirituality, Vocational/Intellectual, Financial, Physical, Mental/Emotional, and Social domain. From the time I began school in the United States to the time I graduated college, I faced social struggles that created my overachieving personality today. This paper will review the good and the bad experiences that impacted my life, explore both literature and theories that relate to my experiences, and convey the implications of my experiences regarding my future practice.

Personal Development

Spiritual growth demands time and maturity to strengthen and become part of an identity. I was born in Jerusalem, Israel, and lived there for the first seven years of my life until my parents moved me and my siblings to Los Angeles, California. As a young child, I did not fully comprehend this big move. As I began school in the U.S., I started to realize the drastic differences in children’s behaviors which led me to great battles from language barriers to social isolation. Being locked in bathrooms with the lights turned off and being hit or pushed while playing in the jungle gyms led to a number of apology letters given to me by classmates grew, but I believed these to be friendly gestures, unfortunately, these letters were consequential punishments adhered by my after school teacher. I then moved to a different school for second grade. In hopes of fitting in, I began studying Christianity and all of its holidays. Fear of being socially isolated once again led me to give up on Judaism and welcome Christianity. Although my efforts, I was never allowed to be fully included. My friends would conduct secret meetings during recess or lunch which I was not allowed. I was not invited to birthday parties, slumber parties, or even summer celebrations. I changed schools for the fourth time since starting elementary school and began a public middle school where I was also bullied in all three years. I would often come home with food scraps in my hair or bruises from being tripped. I was pushed into lockers and had items stolen from my backpack, such as my iPod. I then attended a private high school where I was friends with one girl until the day she turned on me. From then on, I was constantly called unattractive, ugly, annoying, and dumb. Ironically, the girl who turned on me ended up being the leader of the anti-bullying club our senior year.

Developmentally, I grew the most after my first year of college which consisted of death threats and many anti-Semitic remarks made by other students. The hatred letters, slipped underneath my dorm room door, with threats to not walk alone, threats to not walk at night, and threats of being beaten if ever seen in addition to comments such as “you killed Jesus”, “you need to pay for your sins”, and stern suggestions to join Christianity club on Wednesdays. Additionally, questions of if I was circumcised, if my country still exists, and how I am still alive if my people are extinct were often asked during class meetings. School counselors gave me advice to not walk alone or leave my dorm room often. Realizing that only other Israeli Americans will truly accept me, made me want to study Judaism further to enable the best answers to these mockery questions. I then evolved into the proudest Israeli and Jew I have ever been before.

Vocational factors include learning and using intellectual information as rewards. I used this concept where every A I received made me feel like I won a prize. My vocational aspects grew into beliefs of “if I was not able to be socially accepted, I was going to put all of my energy into my studies” and become the most successful person I could be. Along with my vocational beliefs, my financial independence grew. This personal religious and cultural development has also altered the way I became financially independent. I went with my own roots since Israelis are known for coming to America to start up their own business therefore, I began developing my own business for website and graphic design at the age of 21. This involved being my own boss and further relying only on myself. Creating my own business gave me the opportunity to not only work with whomever I wanted but it also gave me the opportunity to set my own hours. Additionally, I have my workout regime and am able to take care of myself physically, as well as, follow the first-ever recorded diet in our Jewish bible which is veganism. The mental and emotional dimension of the wellness wheel includes control in life and perceiving problems as opportunities to grow, which I am more in control of today than I used to be. Of course, I have bad days where the em