Explain a situation where you have made an ethical decision. Discuss how you weighed up the values involved in that decision, the decision you made, and how you reflect on the decision now

Years ago, myself, along with many others were running to the train as it showed up early at the Ava train station, ahead of me a woman tripped and fell down, injuring herself and losing belongings out of her handbag. Like many others, i saw this happen, and i watched in disbeilef as people ran around her as if nothing had happened! It's the morning rush to get to work so you aren't late, myself included. In that moment and to this day it hasn't changed for what i would do, i stopped, gathered her belongings that were all over the ground and checked on her to see if she was ok. She said she would be fine and that i could continue to the train so i wouldn't miss it, i didn't catch the train that morning and let work know that i would be late. I stayed with her until her partner arrived and could help her. To me, then and now, there is no thinking involved in that decision-making process, regardless of whether you know the person or not, you help in anyway you can! It was shocking to see people walk around the lady like she wasn't even there, the question i ask myself on a constant basis: if that was me in that situation, what would i hope for or like to happen?

Describe how your culture and the people around you have influenced your values and identity

Let me begin by setting the tone for the story, and how I came to the conclusions I have. There has been research completed where two plants at a young age, yes plants, were set side by side and one was told “you will not grow well, you will wither away and not stand straight’. The second was told “you will grow extremely well, you will be beautiful, green and luscious and grow to be an amazing plant” The outcome; one plant extremely healthy, luscious, green and tall, the other… drooped over, withered and dying.
If this is the outcome for speaking to plants this way, how detrimental do you think this will be to one’s self when you have these negative thoughts where you degrade/belittle yourself and don’t think you are truly worthy or good enough in anything you do?

I won't go into detail about the bad past experiences, which included; split family, not feeling worthy/good enough, trust/communication/anger/resentment issues and the list goes on..

I always thought that if I came into a tonne of money or someone loved me, then everything would be ok. It wasnt. Not for a long time. I’ve done great and bad things but have never stopped to be proud of myself, forgive myself, to be grateful for life and for everything that has led to this moment right now. I always thought speaking about these things to be silly, you grow up and most men are told to “stop being weak” or “get over it”, sometimes all it takes is for one person in one moment to ask if you’re ok and to talk through your thoughts (good and bad) and these moments are the ones that could change a life.

Until recently, I had never taken the time to ‘reflect’ on what has happened so far in life, whether it be good or bad. I write this now with the thoughts of a grateful future and where it could lead.

29 years of 'hating myself', always putting myself down, having happy moments but never happy, trying to help other people and not myself, feeling alone in a room full of people, anxiety, stress - this was all normal to me and i thought thats what life was until one day i had to face myself in the mirror, know that i didn't like what i saw, and change.

I'm grateful for how the past has now shaped my present, future and my thinking, the extended family i now have, my friends who are always there for each other, and the person i am today. I am truly fortunate and thankful and you can always make the change to be better!

From the bad past experiences i have found value in who i am today and the reason why i value things like; hard-work, determination, independence, honesty, trust, communication, manners/respect, and helping others. It has been a scary and intimidating experience trying to learn who the 'true me' is, but life is a journey and as i turned 30 years old in July this year, it has been the best year of my life for various reasons which i see as a "Rebirth". I realise that i have these values today because of the experiences i have had, i am now hopeful and without them i would never have written this.

Identify your strengths and how they will support you during your learning journey

Communication: Is key in all areas, especially in a team environment, this will help me become more and more confident (whether i am right or wrong in any situation).

Helping others: I've always tried to help others and i beileve it will be very beneficial to learning, if i try and help someone it will make me better understand what is happening.

Positivity: Remaining positive and good positive comments, negativity does nothing for anyone.

Honesty: Always being honest whether i am right or wrong, you will learn nothing if you lie in situations and it helps know one.

Accountability: You have to remain accountable for your actions otherwise you will never learn or be helpful to anyone.

* All of these go hand in hand with each other at the end of the day *

Evaluate your limitations in terms of your learning and career development: How might these affect your learning journey?

I'm at a good point with myself and my self-beilef and confidence that i know if i apply myself and continue to learn and grow, the only person that will stand in my way is myself. So i would say, because in previous years i would always get in my own way and cut myself off because 'i wasn't good enough' and 'can't go any further' and there was 'no point' - that will be the only thing that gets in my way! It's just about trying to manage that when i have challenging days and see no way out.

Share an example of when you were trying to work productively with others, but there was resistance or tension. Discuss strategies you tried at the time, how effective they were, and your reflections on what other strategies you would try now and why

When i was working at Immigration in my first job years ago, our manager wanted to implement our processes from paper to electronic (she basically wanted to implement this to look good, which we found out later). I was tasked with writing out the current processes we were using for Student Visa's and why it wasn't a good idea because of the nature of the applications. We had a meeting and everytime i had mentioned why it wasn't a good idea there was always a "but", because regardless of my input it was going to happen. There was tension from my part as i had wasted my time on this, and there was no other alternative to the managers way. I was young then, and in a much different headspace and did not care all that much.

Now i would probably try the stratergy from the book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" - Stephen R. Covey. 'Seek first to understand, then be understood'; Listen to the persons point of view, write down what they are trying to communicate and see if i understand there point of view completely. Once i understand, then try and be understood and find some middle ground, resolution and a way forward.