Life Interview Review free essay sample

Luckily, I was given an assignment that appeared to be perfectly suitable to ask all the right questions-A Life Review. I had seen Ms. Walker several times in my childhood. We attended the same church, I met some of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but I knew little about her life journey. One day I asked my grandmother to mention to her that I wanted to interview her for an assignment. With the relief of not being let down, my grandmother gave me her contact number the next day. A few days later, I called her to make sure that she was still interested.With the right reply, I scheduled a day when we could meet and have breakfast. That day came on August 10, 2012 at a restaurant called International House of Pancakes (IHOP). She entered the restaurant door free of prosthetic devices- another sign of good health. A woman of African American decent who stood 5’7 wearing a slightly nervous yet cheerful expression greeted me. â€Å"It’s nice to see, Aminata. Why haven’t I seen you in church lately? † The answer to her question would result in a bunch of made up excuses. This was the perfect time to redirect and focus on the assignment that brought us together to complete â€Å"The Life Review of Ms.Mary Walker†. Family Ms. Mary Walker was born on September 25, 1934 in Savannah, Georgia to Joseph and Emma Lou Simmons. She is the youngest and only girl of four children. Shortly after her parents divorced in 1942, her father moved to New York and her mother became ill. A year later, her mother passed at the age of 25. After her mother’s death, Mary and her three brothers moved to live with their grandmother who was still raising some of her aunts and uncles. At the age of 10, her grandmother passed away from the battle of tuberculosis.Due to her grandmother passing, she and her brothers were sent to live with her aunt in Tampa, Florida. She describes herself as a good child except for a few times when at some occasions of bad behavior she was punished by the whip of the belt. Being the only girl, she learned how to cook and do laundry at an early age. Traditionally, girls were made to perform household duties to prepare them for the role of wife and mother. Although literature was rarely provided, she fell in love with reading when her uncle brought home comic books. Academically, Ms. Walker excelled in school.In fact, she was scheduled to become co-valedictorian during her senior year. Sometime during her junior year, she became romantically involved with Richard Walker Jr. Shortly after high school in 1957, they married. In 1953, towards the end of her junior year in high school she became pregnant with her first son Jewell. After the birth of her son, she gave custody to an older brother so that she could return to high school to graduate with honors. A year after graduating, she gave birth to another son Rodney. Together the couple had 10 children 6 boys and 4 girls.To support her family she took jobs working as a house cleaner and cleaning businesses. After 21 years of marriage, she divorced her husband as result of an abusive relationship. Following the divorce, she attended junior college through a state grant. After her completion of her two-year degree, she enrolled at Eckerd College where she earned her bachelors’ in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences in 1973. She began teaching middle school social studies in 1974. After 21 years as an educator, she retired from teaching in 2004. Since retirement, she has been enjoying life and found happiness in working with youth activities in her church.As grandmother, she enjoys the position of the matriarch. She has estimated forty grandchildren and about twenty great-grandchildren. Although she has not met all of grandchildren, she is hoping that sometime during the remainder of her life she will have the opportunity to build relationships with all of them. Social/Historical/Environmental Influences Ms. Walker has lived through several historical events. She recalls the World War II as an event that affected her early childhood. Her parents received rations of food and clothing from the federal government, which limited their material possessions.She stated this was the time she first realized that she was poor. Like other African Americans, the Jim Crow laws affected almost every aspect social of life during pre -civil rights movements. She can remember instances of racism where she was served food through the back door, using segregated public bathrooms, and reading old school books that came from white schools. She noted that America has come a long way from the days of Jim Crow. The vindication of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States is proof of America’s progression in race relations.Global Assessment The support of the family is the most positive aspect of family life. The rise of single parent homes has produced a negative change in family life stating that single mothers are too often bearing the burden of raising children alone. With comparison to her childhood, children today are more exposed to material things, which she links to more stress and crimes among youth. Although she lived during a period when there were oppressive attitudes towards African Americans, she stated within her community there was more unity. In recent times, increased material wealth has created divisiveness between all people by class. One of the most pressing issues that she sees as needing political change today is the interpretation of the second amendment the right to bear arms. Too many crimes involving guns among younger populations have escalated. She stated that the original purpose of the amendment was for states to have the right to bear arms against the threat of the federal government. The need for gun control should lead by the federal government through legislation. Critical Analysis Resilience and EmpowermentEmpowerment theories are based on the idea that society consists of stratified groups processing different and unequal levels of power and control over resources that restrict people from achieving their aspirations (Ritzer, 2008). Empowerment is the â€Å"process of increasing personal, interpersonal or political power so that individuals can take action to improve their life situations (Zastrow Ki rst-Ashman, 2010)†. To say that negative experiences can bring within opportunities to an individual, family, or community, does not mean that we do not acknowledge their scars and pain.The Strengths Perspective acknowledges that often people who are facing hardship are resilient and creative and we should discover and learn from their strategies to overcome adversity. People learn from the challenges they endure as well as from their accomplishments. Resiliency seems to spring from the interaction between those internal and environmental resources and the risk factors that the person is facing. When going through difficulty, people may become aware of some talents, assets, or resources. In other cases, people develop new strengths and resources in order to meet their challenges.Some examples are creativity, spirituality, humor, caring, and the like. Knowledge comes from different sources, including education, culture, and actual experience. While learning about our world, we develop skills and abilities. For instance, a client might know much more about the housing system than we can ever hope to learn. However, too often this knowledge is conquered. We will identify it only if we observe and ask. Frequently, you will find that people have surprising talents, such as singing, writing, painting, telling stories, and so on.Many times people do not even mention those talents because they do not seem relevant to what we are discussing. If we do not ask, we remiss the opportunity of mobilizing these strengths. Although these talents may not be connected to the clients’ aspirations, they give us more resources and tools to assist individuals in fulfilling those aspirations and reaching their goals. These strengths are sources of stability, guidance, a sense of belonging, and a place in the world. Narratives, myths, and cultural stories can be a source of identity, meaning, and inspiration through adversity.Surviving an abusive marriage taught her coping skills. She realized her strengths at a later age and decided to focus on the things that brought her the most joy. Her advice to young adults is waiting for the right partner is worth the wait. Her experience has taught her that when raising children a two parents home is the most suitable. The support of the extended family can take away some of these stress on the parents. With these components, she stated, â€Å"the outcomes of the children are better. † Coping Skills People cope with the loss of a loved one in many ways.For some, the experience may lead to personal growth, even though it is a difficult and trying time. There is no right way of coping with death. The way a person grieves depends on the personality of that person and the relationship with the person who has died. How a person copes with grief is affected by the persons cultural and religious background, coping skills, mental history, support systems, and the persons social and financial status. The definition of coping is as the â€Å"constantly changing (dynamic) cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage internal and/or external demands exceeding the resources of the person.This emphasizes that coping behaviors go beyond routine, adaptive behaviors. Ms. Walker dealt with coping through the death of her mother and the death of her grandmother. Grief has seven stages. Stage 1 is shock denial. In this stage, one will probably react to learning of the loss with numbed disbelief. One may deny the reality of the loss at some level, in order to avoid the pain. Shock provides emotional protection from being overwhelmed all at once. This may last for weeks. Stage 2 is pain guilt. In this stage, As the shock wears off, it is replaced with the suffering of unbelievable pain.Although excruciating and almost unbearable, it is important that you experience the pain fully, and not hide it, avoid it or escape from it with alcohol or drugs. One may have guilty feelings or remorse over things they did or did not do with their loved one. Life feels chaotic and scary during this phase. Stage 3 is anger bargaining. In this stage, frustration gives way to anger, and you may lash out and lay unwarranted blame for the death on someone else. Please try to control this, as permanent damage to your relationships may result. This is a time for the release of bottled up emotion.Stage 4 is depression, reflection, loneliness. This is the stage where everyone thinks you should be getting on with your life; a long period of sad reflection will likely overtake you. This is a normal stage of grief, so do not be talked out of it by well-meaning outsiders. Encouragement from others is not helpful to you during this stage of grieving. During this time, you finally realize the true magnitude of your loss, and it depresses you. You may isolate yourself on purpose, reflect on things you did with your lost one, and focus on memories of the past. You may sense feelings of emptiness or despair.You may rail against fate, questioning Why me? You may also try to bargain in vain with the authorities for a way out of your despair. The fifth stage is the upward turn. In this stage as you start to adjust to life without your dear one, your life becomes a little calmer and more organized. Your physical symptoms lessen, and your depression begins to go away slowly. Stage 6 is the reconstruction working through stage. in this stage. As you become more functional, your mind starts working again, and you will find yourself seeking realistic solutions to problems posed by life without your loved one.You will start to work on practical and financial problems and reconstructing yourself and your life without him or her. The final stage, Stage 7 is the acceptance hope stage. During this stage, you learn to accept and deal with the reality of your situation. Acceptance does not necessarily mean instant happiness. Given the pain and turmoil you have experienced, you can never return to the carefree, untroubled YOU that existed before this tragedy. However, you will find a way forward. Ms. Walker explained to me how she went through some of the coping stages. She experienced anger because she lost the only people she ever known and loved. She was depressed and then she came to came to accept God’s will. Her mother and grandmother were devoted Christians and she found comfort in knowing where they were going to. Marcia’s model To reach the stage of identity achievement, people undergo a period of intense decision-making. After much effort, they develop a personalized set of values and make their career decisions. The attainment of identity is usually thought of as the most beneficial of the four status categories. Ashman Zastrow, 2010) Ms. . Walker had to make some tough decisions growing up and through adulthood. Growing up she made a decision to do very well in school. She even made co-valedictorian. Also, even though she because pregnant at a very young age, she made a decision to put her son up for adoption and continue with her education. As an adult, Ms. Walker was trapped in an abusive relationship for 21 years, where she made the decision to get out of it and start her life anew. All these decision Ms. Walker made growing up made her the person she is today. Critical Race TheoryCritical Race Theory (CRT) views racism not as eccentric but rather as the natural order of American life (Ritzer, 2008). Because racism is an integrated feature in society, it appears as something ordinary and natural in the culture (Ritzer, 2008). The white elite will encourage racial advances for blacks only when they also promote white self-interest (Ritzer, 2008). Critical Race Theory seeks for the discriminated against to be understood by larger society and that the law should help those that have been victims as well rather than focusing on the perpetrators (Ritzer, 2008).Critical race theory is considered an alternative theory. Critical race theory sees racism as the norm. It emphasizes that colorblindness does not exist. It believes that people’s own experiences are more accurate than statistical information because people’s experiences provide a picture of reality. Further, critical race theory believes that civil rights laws will only go into effect if white people think they will gain something in return (Wiggins, Wiggins, Zanden Vander, 1994). For example, whites with interact more with whites rather than other races Wiggins, et al. 1994). Theorist’s Delgado and Stefancic (2001) states that CRT movement is a collection of activists and scholars interested in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power. The movement considers many of the same issues that conventional civil rights and ethnic studies discourses take up, but places them in a broader perspective that includes economics, history, context, group and self-interest, and even feelings and the unconscious (Delgado Stefancic, 2001). Growing up, Ms. Walker lived through segregation.She remembers the World War II as an event that affected her early childhood. Her parents received rations of food and clothing from the federal government, which limited their material possessions. She stated this was the time she first came to the realization that she was poor. Like other African Americans, the Jim Crow laws affected almost every aspect social of life during pre -civil rights movements. She can remember instances of racism where she was served food through the back door, using segregated public bathrooms, and reading old school books that came from white schools.She noted that America has come a long way from the days of Jim Crow. The vindication of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States is proof of America’s progression in race relations Triumphs and Regrets Despite her obstacles of raising children and working, she found success in attaining a higher education, which she is most proud of. Delaying post-secondary education was is something she regrets as doing. Her advice to young people is that obey the laws, develop a strong faith in God, faith in oneself, live within your means, and treating others as you want to be treated.Conclusion Life is the sum of all your experiences that shape you into the individual you are going to be in old age. Ms. Walker experiences have led her to a much peaceful being. She says that â€Å"as you age the experiences of life will teach you coping skills. † Surviving an abusive marriage, achieving goals later in life and child rearing have taught her patience. Coping skills prepares the individual for the perils of old age. I believe this aspect best represents Erikson’s the integrity aspect of the theory ego integrity vs. despair. Her perceptions of family, stemmed from her earlier experiences. She learned to care for others at an earlier age when family took responsibility in raising her and her four brothers. When she became mother and a wife she used her early childhood experiences to nurture and care for her own family. Today, she cares for some of her grandchildren. This displays that her experiences are deeply rooted in her belief system. As the result of my conversation with Mrs. Walker, I learned life is about what you make it. Individuals make a variety of choices that are going to affect later life experiences. Learning to cope with life grievances helps individuals achieve self-actualization.