Sunook Cantal

     From elementary, middle, and partially some of highschool, I was very antisocial, and I did not like talking to people since I always thought they would judge me. However, I soon came to realize that everyone had that similar sort of mindset. From there, I learned that in order that one way to counter this mindset was to become more confident in myself. From there, I started participating in events that were outside my comfort zone. I started joining more youth group events at church, I used my talent in swimming to join the high school swim team, and I hung around my friends more often than before. The desire that I to improve my mentality is still ongoing today, and I still have not even scrapped the very bottom of where I want to be. But anyways, for now I am still striving engage myself in more events that will bring me out of comfort.

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     This internship was one of those opportunities that I had that allowed me to get out of my comfort zone. Proudly to say, over the course of this internship, I have developed what many would say would be a “ backbone”. I got countless insults and remarks from the kids in the LEAPs program that were super negative, but I continued to persevere regardless of the negativity. Over time, I grew used to the negativity, and focused on helping the kids academically.

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     Another technique that I honed were my communication skills. In response to the kids negative responses, I usually laughed or said a polite joke, which swerved the conversation into another direction. Simply put, I talked about what I wanted to talk about. When the kids were struggling with their homework, I would lighten up the mood by telling them about myself, which made it easier for myself to establish clear communication between myself and them. When the kids did not want to do their homework, I did not force them to do it. Instead, I set up an incentive for them to do their homework. Most often, I would tell them another joke or show a cool trick. At the end of the internship, I learned that communication is rather a reflection of how one is feeling, and the tone of how you speak creates an image in the receivers brain. I learned that keeping my tone of voice calm and quiet, and it was beneficial because it required the kids to quiet down and listen.

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     I initially did not expect much to happen at the beginning of this internship because I previously had lead a group of kids over the summer. I thought that this internship would similar to that experience, but it turned out that I was wrong. I was set up in a new environment with people i had never met before. I think that another aspect of this internship that I can take out is that two experiences will exactly be the same if it involves people; every person that you will meet in life will be different, therefore if you should always expect that the environment will be different if there are different people.

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     Now, I have a very small sense of what is like to be a nurse. Every day, you are put into a job with the same exact protocol. However, each day will be different since each day will involve different people. And since there will be different people, you will always get a different experience. It is kind of like the movie Forrest Gump, where Forrest Gump says, “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get”. And it is kind of like that in a sense. You will never expect the new people that you will meet.