Tamiko Smith
PSYC 2389
Instructor: Prof. John Coleman
November 16, 2013
Reflection Assignment 1: Critical Incident There are many times in life where you run across a situation whether it’s big or small that makes you think or reflect on your life. Sometimes they leave an impression on you, and make you see things in a different way. It could be something that is dramatic or even simple, but it will change you in some way. I had an experience like this on my service learning project.
I had the opportunity to look over some files while I was doing work for the probation office. I was putting papers into files, and filing them into the filing cabinet for my job of the day. The files included all the probationers’ personal information and information about their cases. The judgments that were laid out for them were needed, but time consuming. They have so many responsibilities to complete while on probation. As I was going through the files, I realized that I never want to ever get in this kind of trouble. During my service learning incident, my supervisor would talk to me about his job and the things that go along with it. One day I was going through the files, and we began to talk. I was talking about how I couldn’t believe all the things that people on probation had to do. They have to report, take pee tests, take classes, and pay fines. I have to admit that I was feeling kind of sorry for them. Then the supervisor said, “You shouldn’t feel sorry for them because they choose the road that they took.” I know that it may seem crazy, but his statement had me thinking for the rest of the day. The more that I thought about it the more that I began to appreciate the choices that I have made in life. I know when I was younger there was a few situations where I could have went to the left instead of the right. I could have just as easily