ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT 1: KNOW YOURSELF

The instructions given were:
As we discussed divide your journey till now from 0yrs to your current age into stages.
Remember particular events that occurred, circumstances that you lived in, places that you
visited, people that you met etc. that have influenced and shaped who you are today and the
responses you have in particular situations. You can take an emotion or you can take a
response.

So for example as I said that for me blank faces made me uncomfortable when I spoke to
people and then my response would be to stay silent or think that I am being judged, or maybe
I am making a mistake. So putting across my point of view decreased for me. For me that
happened because as a kid the response I got and the facial expressions I had received when I
tried to voice my opinion was such. I started associating the stern look or the blank look with
anger while I could have also associated it with pondering or contemplation. The places that
these incidences happened at were places that we expect to be our safe places or from people
we consider close. Again there's the association part here.

Thus, your pointers for this assignment are -- main - your response/reaction, your emotions --
why do those particular reactions arise -- reason behind the associations -- socio-cultural
reasons, physical environment reasons, etc. Explore as much as you can.
Make a mind map or flowchart if needed.

Sample Submission:

Three major things characterize my whole existence; my intellect, my determination,

and my social life. The intellectual aspect of my life consists of my creativity, my studies
and basically my life pursuits. My social life is quite vibrant. I am an outgoing person
and I love to have fun. My determination and my faith inform the decisions I make and
consequently guide who I have become today.
When I was a kid; Eat, Play, Sleep repeat has been my thing. I wasn’t really into
studying hard, but I always scored good grades from the beginning which kept on
building my confidence. Maths was and is my favorite subject and I was often praised
for good performance in it. A sense of competition was developed in the classes with
my colleagues, where I always felt that I should win, and I should be ahead of all.
From here, this feeling has never stopped, and it got rooted in me forever. When I was
young, I never had any restrictions from my parents and was free to do and learn the
things I wished to. My elder sister being silent and parents being social; I have lived a
free life and developed leadership qualities looking at my dad. So, from the beginning, I
was bold and would love to put my thoughts across in public.
I had a group of true friends in my school days and I was bossy amongst all. (They
called me Rajneeti :p). Going in Secondary school I had joined a coaching where the
competition was much more and at this stage, I felt that scoring good marks was not
easy anymore. And I had initially, raised the bar for myself and my tutor in the
coaching also had huge expectations from me. This was the time I was determined to
run ahead of all with which I scored 94% in my 10th std. and was on cloud nine. Beside
studying, I loved to spend time with my friends and party around with them.
Aside, my love for studies I loved to draw, craft and dance and went to extra-curricular
classes like Bharatanatyam, Sketching, Abacus, etc. wherein sometimes to run away
from boring subjects like history I loved to sketch the old buildings. I certainly loved
studying but was not a bookworm and enjoyed drawing beyond that. So, Architecture
was my option from 8th std. In 11th,12th; The coaching I joined lacked competition and
tests; due to which I never felt the want of that first position and the environment around
wasn’t motivating which led to less of studying and less grades in 12th. My parents
never restricted me to any career options but having a family with medical background;
there was a certain pressure to do that. And so, I left Biology subject in 11th to avoid the
medical field. I scored good marks in the entrance but due to low grades of 12 th ; the
average wasn’t good enough so that I could get an admission in the college I wanted to
and that was the time I wished to study from a new city where I could live my life on my
own, independently. Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen, and I had to stay back in
Nasik! This was the first time; I was held back by myself and felt disappointed.
So, from the beginning of this new college life, I knew that I have to give my best and
bring back the ‘want to win’’ feeling in me. With all my determination I was very soon
back on track and started working hard. I tried sharing good bond with all my
colleagues. I am a person who needs people around me, and I love to have friends until
when I realized that nobody in the colllege around me was real. They were jealous of
me and doubted me; talked with me only if I could lend any help to them. They made
me feel left out which was difficult for me, since I am a totally straight spoken and
extrovert person; So yess… from that time I started to stay alone in my own space and
developed a feeling of anxiety in me. I didn’t ever like this feeling and always felt that
there is something wrong in me, I doubted myself and was disturbed for almost 6
months; But later I gathered myself and enjoyed my own company with 1-2 genuine
people with whom I can talk. So, I accepted the fact that not always people are going to
be there for you; I learnt that I may keep myself a bit reserved with certain people and I
started to like my own secluded space and there onwards I started becoming an
extrovert-introvert person. In present I am a stable ambivert.
But I am fortunate enough that I’ve always had my school friends by my side as my
constant pillars of friendship and I spend the best time with them.
Thus, to truly define myself, ‘’I am a I am an open-minded, stubborn and straightforward
person, the most energetic and enthusiastic one when it comes to spending time with
my loved ones; but also, the one who is hesitant and feels shy to talk to strangers; I am
quite emotional and sensitive and I love to create new bonds but I’m scared to do that
too. I am determined in my studies and career and I will love to lead an independent
life.
MY STORYBOARD
A SHY AND BOLD PERSON