Having the opportunity to work with clients has taught me to look beyond the exterior of a person. I have always tried to judge people for who they are, not what they look like. However, when someone is physically disabled they may not be able to fairly represent themselves the way they want. A person may be trapped in their body. Identity is lost in disability and a new "disabled" identity may be formed. Many outside influences shape who we become. However, there's a delicate balance between being influenced and making choices that control who you are. I would like to be a positive influence for my client to make the choice to strive towards being able to show who they are.
An observation about my fellow OT cohorts..
We have been on this ride together for two life changing years. Together we have matured into becoming practitioners. Through school's challenges we have bonded in our professional growth. We have come out the other side of our academic milestone transformed. We are more passionate, social, caring and considerate. I feel that the program has helped inspire change for us to be better people. I feel this change in myself, and I have seen my classmates treat each other and clients with a beautiful kindness. I will always have a special place for those that I went to school with. I have worked with most everyone and have had the opportunity to get to know many of my classmates. Which brings me to another thought...
Once I get hired at my first OT job I will have to start all over in getting to know everyone I work with. I feel I just got to know everyone and will not see them on a daily basis anymore. :( It took about two years, will it take another two years to get to know people at work? And then what happens when I want to move on to a different setting in two years? I will have to start over again. Is that what it takes to grow professionally? I hear that the OT community is small. Hopefully I will be able to build a professional reputation. I hope that I can go on to publish and do presentations at conferences. I am already planning on going to Japan for WFOT. I suppose I will get to see some people at conferences but I know some cohorts I may never see again. This thought makes me very sad.
