Self-awareness and relationships by amanda

Self-awareness and relationships by amanda - August 2015 Scholarship Essay

The American High School curriculum should be expanded to include a course focused on developing a sense of self-awareness and how to build healthy relationships. Self-awareness consists of simple concepts, such as identifying your personal strengths and weakness, understanding how you learn, identifying stressors, and what coping mechanisms work with your personality. Being able to identify behavior patterns allow individuals to make adjustments to their negative behaviors and grow from their experiences.

Self-awareness plays an important role in the development and maintenance of relationships. By building self-awareness students will be able to identify what they need from a friendship or romantic relationship. Students will be able to set clear boundaries with friends and partners in a respectful, confident manner. Additionally, the course will assist students the development of tools to increase their self-esteem and help students identify their personal value.

The ability to build healthy and fluid relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners requires some level of self-awareness, which is why the curriculum should cover self-awareness first. Increased self-awareness assists in the development of empathy, improves emotional stability and increases problem solving abilities. Additionally, it improves how individuals treat and interact with one another.

In terms of romantic relationships, violence and abuse are increasingly prevalent throughout our culture, but more prominently in teen relationships. The curriculum should identify what healthy relationships consist of, how to overcome gender stereotypes, how to care and support friends, and where to turn if you do not feel safe in a relationship. The course should specifically identify patterns of behavior that are indicators of domestic violence. Students often view domestic violence solely as physical abuse. Thus, the course must cover emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse. By encouraging the development of self-awareness and providing the tools to build healthy relationships, students will be empowered to cultivate relationships based on mutual respect and love.

The positive impact of this curriculum stretched beyond interpersonal relationships, it would increase the abilities of college and career bound students. Students would be better equipped to handle the stresses of higher education and the job market. Individuals with a high level of self-awareness are more goal oriented, less likely to abuse substance, and enter into healthy relationships.