2.1.

7 Apply Knowledge of human Behavior and the social

environment
Practice Behaviors:
Utilize conceptual frameworks to guide the process of assessment,
intervention and evaluation; Critique and apply knowledge to understand
person and environment
Adolescence
SW3510
In this paper I was asked to write about my adolescence, and how that shaped me. This
paper focused on my growth and development in to the person that I am today. The environment
that I was in and how that shaped me and my thinking. This paper also explains how I grew up,
my family dynamics, my social environment and my greatest influences.
This paper helped me to reflect on theories as they pertain to my learning and growth.
The paper also helped me to evaluate situations in my life, positive or negative and evaluate how
they shaped my thinking and perception of life lessons and qualitys that I possess.
Writing this paper was therapeutic for me at a time that was particularly difficult. Writing
this paper was important for me to understand the person that I am and the environment that I
grew up in. this helps me as a social worker to understand the importance of doing this for each
client. It is important to understand that each person we cross paths with has their own unique
story, ways in which they learned and developed their perceptions. As a professional social
worker I will use the lessons that I have learned in my life, my educational experience and
thorough the process of this paper to remember to treat each client and person with their own
personal respect and understanding.

Adolescence
Kayli Sheehan
Ek7956

Adolescence
During my adolescence I was a happy child. My family was very
blessed, I have a Mother, Father and one brother. We lived in a nice town,
with decent schools and my parents both worked. There was very little that
my brother or I ever needed for, or even wanted for that matter. I grew up in
a time when technology was expanding, although this played very little part
in the molding of me. Majority of my free time was spent unlike children do
today, I played out side with friends, family and even by myself. I was raised
to be self-sufficient, my parents trusted me and others in our community. I
was raised to have manners and to be kind to everyone. These were just a
few of the values I adapted during my adolescence. I learned a lot from my
brother as well. There is something that can be said for children with siblings.
Having an older brother has made me very unique. I learned all types of

things from him, from how to tell a joke, how to swim and even how to fight.
As I grew older, I also learned from my brother by choosing not to do things
that he did. He may have been a great brother, but wasnt the best role
model during his teenage years. I also had many friends, boys and girls that I
spent a lot of time with. These friends and I taught each other a lot. We
learned how to play, be compassionate and how to dress and wear makeup.
My relationships with my friends evolved over the years, some relationship
made it through and some did not, but I learned a lot from each.
One of my first memories I had as a child was when my family and I
moved homes. I was four years old and at the time this did not seem that
significant. My parents made a choice to move us from what they saw was a
fearsome neighborhood off of eight mile, to a cozy little town about 30 miles
north. This became our family home, where my brother and I would grow up
and make wonderful family memories. Something I remember learning at a
young age was how to fight, my brother and I would argue about everything,
just as siblings do. This would more often than not, result in some sort of
scuffle. These scuffles would usually end with him winning and me in tears,
because he was older and bigger than me and I am quite sensitive. As we
got older these scuffles became fights and my parents would have to
intervene. This was when I began to learn that because I was a girl this
meant I was not supposed to fight with boys. This was the time I began to
learn how ladies were supposed to act, and how men were supposed to treat
them. This was also the time that my brother became my protector, he

vowed to never let anyone harm me, and he meant it. I learned that being a
girl and acting like a girl were not one in the same. I was more into playing
sports, digging in the dirt and wrestling. My parents always told me that as
long as I was happy then they were too. By allowing me to be who I wanted
to be, and to express myself, my parents instilled in me positive self-esteem.
My parents displayed the right attitudes towards me that always let me know
that I could be and do anything I set my mind to. These attitudes can be
developed from our values and beliefs (Jose B. Ashford, 2012). Which is why
my parents had such positive attitudes as they raised my brother and I, this
was due to their sunny disposition that they had on life in general. I learned
these values, beliefs and developed a similar attitude to that of my parents.
I was always taught growing up to treat each person with kindness and
respect. Discrimination and prejudice were something I was never familiar
with until I was much older. I never saw my parents treat anyone differently
because of the way that they looked. My parents always had a lot of friends
and would talk to just about anybody when they left the house. It always
amazed me as a child when I would watch my parents interact with others.
My mother had a way of always making someone laugh, and my dad was
always going out of his way to help others. As I grew older I really could
appreciate the values that they taught me about loving everyone, and
treating each person you meet with the same kindness and respect that you
would treat a loved one. My mother used to always say that it was important
to be nice to everyone because you never know what they might be going

through or where they came from. My brother taught me that it was

important to be nice to everyone because its a small world and you never
know when a person may come back into your life. These are some great
things that I learned from some great people in my life.
As I continued to grow, my body developed much differently than that
of the other girls. While I grew taller, the rest of my body stayed thin. This
began the battle of my body image. My parents were not concerned,
because they knew that they fed me well and as I said before I was a happy
child. I was receiving all of my protein, vegetables and vitamins. There were
several others that I crossed paths with during my youth that were not
comfortable with the way that I looked. There was one teacher in particular
that I had, and she was very adamant about the fact that I was not healthy.
This was my second grade teacher, lets just call her Mrs.N. I will never forget
her, or the things that she said to me as a child. She would ask me each day
if I was eating, she would even ask me why I was so skinny. There was one
day that I had a stomach ache at school, which for a kid or any human really
is common. She was sure that this was due to my malnutrition. When my
mother came to pick me up, she was asked into the principals office. After
that my mother took me to the doctors where I had a full physical. I was sent
to school the next day with a full bill of clean health. My Teacher would
continue to be skeptical and would still try to be sure that I was eating at
school. She would give me extra snacks or would inquire when I would stay
home from school. When I was a child, her worries about my pubescent

physical growth made me self-conscious. I would worry and wonder why I did
not look like the other children. My parents would reassure me that because
of my metabolism my body just burned fat faster than other people. My
parents would comfort me in that my physique was a blessing and that I
should be proud of my body no matter what. Thanks to their support I began
to be more comfortable with my body image.
Several years later as I began to mature so did my friends. This began
the times of experimenting and testing the boundaries. During this time in
my life my brother Kyle and I grew much closer. He was the person I would
go to when I was having worries about my friends, my choices and peer
pressure. My brother is three years older than me so when I would ask him
about something, chances were that he has already done it or knew about it.
My brother was well informed about drugs, sex and rock and roll. He would
give me informational answers to my questions and then would encourage
me, not do what others were doing but to do what I wanted. He was never
one to give into peer pressure or do things because they were cool. He was
the one who started the trends, or introduced a new band to his friends. He
was a great brother, and as we matured so did our relationship. When my
brother was 16 he decided that he wanted to start experimenting with drugs.
This led him down a path that drew him away from me and my parents. He
stopped going to school, and only wanted to party. This was just the
beginning of an uphill battle that my parents, and I had with his sobriety, and
his development into the wonderful man that he eventually became.

One night my brother ran away from home, leaving behind a note that
stated how much he didnt care anymore. He no longer cared about school,
his home and the rules, that all he wanted to do was get high. This sent my
parents into a panic, they began searching for him. Reaching out to his
friends and the police for help. That evening our house phone rang, my
father answered and the person on the other end hung up. I knew that this
was Kyle, a few minutes later it rang again, this time I answered. Sure
enough it was him, we talked for a while. Kyle wouldnt tell me where he was,
why he left or when he would be back. What he did tell me was this I have a
roof over my head, a place to rest my head and Ill be ok. My brother did
this every night for four nights until we received a call from his friend, telling
us where he was. My parents, me and a police escort went to pick him up,
and from there we took him to a rehabilitation clinic where he could be
admitted. This was just the beginning of a long journey for him and my
family. Through this all of our relationships developed into mutual respects
and respect for one another. Through this experience I learned a lot about
myself and the how the choices that we make affect everyone around us. My
mom and dad were doing the very best that they could for us, but felt for a
long time like they were losing. I watched as my brothers choices tore my
parents apart. I knew that I never wanted to watch them suffer that way
again, and I especially did not want to be the person that caused them pain. I
was able to take these experiences and learn from the mistakes that my
brother made. His addictions helped me through my teenage years, when

people would ask me if I wanted drugs or alcohol I never felt the need to
experiment. I knew that I never wanted to touch any of it, I knew what it
could do to me, and my loved ones. The theory of learning and how
continuity plays a role in how we learn plays a part in this life experience for
me (Jose B. Ashford, 2012). In this experience I associated drugs with the
sadness and loss that my family felt, which made me choose to never use
drugs.
Communication is one of the theories and that is very important to my
family. As I grew up I witnessed and practiced positive communication with
my family. This was something that I was taught without even realizing it. My
parents always expressed their open line of communication with my brother
and me. As I grew older I began to understand the importance of
communication as well as how lucky I was to have parents that I could
communicate with. Communication is considered one of the most important
elements in human affairs (Jose B. Ashford, 2012). I remember growing up
and if I was ever in a sticky situation I would call my parents, no matter what
type of trouble that it might get me into. As I began my teenage years my
friends recognized this and many of them would turn to my parents as well.
That was when I recognized again just how special my parents are. That they
are the type of people who would never judge me, and as long as I was
honest with them they were right by side always. Keeping that line of
communication open always, and now as I grew older has helped me develop
long lasting relationships in my life. This is a skill that will also help me as

social worker. It is important to communicate appropriately with my clients to

ensure that I can help them in any way possible. To make others feel
comfortable and willing to share things with me will be an important skill as a
social worker, and I am thankful that I was taught this as a child.
There have been many skills, values and morals that I have learned
during my adolescence, that have helped me develop into the person that I
am today. Throughout these experiences, I have learned lessons. Each lesson
along the way as guided me, and molded me when I didnt even realize it. I
had a very blessed childhood, and these blessings continue as I continue my
education. My values and lessons learned will only aid me in being a more
successful social worker.

References
Jose B. Ashford, C. W. (2012). Human Behavior in the Social Environment. Cengage
learning.