Class Experience

When I first walked into my class I was much more nervous than I had expected. It was my first college class and I did not know anyone in it. If I had to choose one class to be my first I would have definitely chosen this one. It allowed me to feel comfortable and get used to the setting. If I would have had to go into my anatomy class first I would have started off with a much higher stress level.

Class Experience

Many of my friends at other colleges tell me of how they have had a tough time getting accustomed. I feel if they would have had a class similar to this one their experience would have been a lot easier. The transition to college is not an easy one and any help is necessary. The class gave a feeling of a college class while still having a friendly feel to it. I felt it was nice to be surrounded by peers who were all in a similar situation with all of the same problems.

Class Experience

The message of this class could not be more positive. All of the volunteer work we are exposed to is great. Many people say they want to help but just don't know how. This class showed us in just how many different ways we can help. Through all of the opportunities there must be a few that we found fun and easy. The little time we took out of our lives to help made a much larger impact than we think. By opening our lives to volunteer work we grow greatly as individuals.

Throughout all of the different surveys and volunteer opportunities I feel that I have grown greatly as a person. I am beginning to notice small things such as soup kitchens I never knew I passed by before. I am also realizing just in how many ways I can help people around me. Also, I feel that I know myself much better now. My strengths and weaknesses are much clearer to me and I can put effort in areas I need to improve. Every freshman should have to take this class and I am glad I was a part of it.

Ulifeline and Alcohol Screening

Both of these resources can be of great helpful to any family or friend who is trying to help a loved one. Also, if a person themselves feels that they might be going through a rough time in their lives these website would be a great evaluation. They could get a better idea of whether they are going through a rough batch or if they might be suffering from an illness. It would be much more beneficial for someone to know ahead of time so that they could seek treatment and not continue to suffer.

Ulifeline

I felt that the Ulifeline could be useful for students who feel their moods have been eratic. It will give them a sense of what they are dealing with and how to solve it. After taking it my results showed that I currently have no symptoms of any disorder. If I felt one of my friends had been acting strangely I would direct them to this site so that they could get help. This site can be helpful for parents and professors who feel that they know an individual who is need of help.

Thoughts on Ulifeline and Alcohol screening

It seems that the idea of underage drinking has become more and more acceptable in our age. We hear of teens getting MIP's and getting pulled over for drunk driving. The idea of alcohol screening is a very helpful one for many different reasons. If we could know about the teens that are drinking they could be provided with help and knowledge before they get in trouble.

Research Experience

Throughout my research, I have been surprised numerous times. I was not aware that the amount of people who are hungry and homeless was so large. I have also been able to find out many new ways I can help these people. Having the opportunity to help in any way possible has been a great experience for me and I feel that I have grown as a person. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to extend a helping hand.

With so many homeless people it is important for more universities to have students take classes that will help them educate them in this subject. I am positive that the homeless community is grateful for any help from people who are more privileged than themselves. As students we are lucky to be in a position to be able to help ourselves to becoming successful. But being in the position we are liable to help the people who are not so lucky. We need to find time in our busy lives to help people around us.

Research Experience

I am sad that we could not do the homeless experience. I feel that it would have been very helpful in us understanding the daily routine of a homeless individual much better. If we could have slept outside we would have seen the rigorous nights they suffer through. We complain if we do not have our phones for a few hours. I would have liked to see how much we would have complained with out major neccessities. If I ever have the opportunity to take part in something like that again I will make sure to do it.

Research Experience

Due to my busy schedule I was unable to go help at the soup kitchen. What my research showed me was so startling I would have liked to experience it first hand. I feel this would have given me a much grander outlook on this subject. Without this experience I feel that I missed a large part but I will make sure to volunteer my time at any event I can in the future.

Post-flexion

It was hard for me to get the full homeless experience. There were many factors that contributed to this. With the homeless experience being cancelled my classmates and I could not see what even one night as a homeless individual would be like. I feel that this would have been and eye-opening experience for all of us. On the other hand, my lack of free time kept me from being able to participate in the community service. This would have been another great opportunity to see what people go through every day. Even though I was unable to participate in the events, just learning about homelessness gave me a much better idea on the subject.

Reflexion

I was not aware of how many individuals truely go hunry every day. Even though I was unable to provide community service hours I still contributed by donating canned goods. With the economy in the state it is now any help is greatly appreciated. I feel that learning about hunger and homelessness in our country is something that should become a part of every college students experince. In this point in our lives we are independent enough to take stands on matters and help without having to rely on our parents.

Learning all of the facts about these issues was deeply distressing. I was aware of the problems before but I was not aware of the extent to which they affected our nation. Now that I have become more educated on the subject I am noticing many things I did not notice before. On many of my drives which I have gone on numerous times I am just now starting to notice cafes for the hungry and shelters for the homeless. Also on my drives to the downtown area I am beginning to notice more and more homeless people holding up signs and asking for help.

Even though they might have different reasons for being in a destitute state they are all equally in need of help. With the winter coming I can't help but think what they will do. Many of us complain about are cars not warming up and the ten minute of cold we "suffer through". But imagine that ten minutes being an hour, a day, a week... I do not think many of us could put ourselves in those shoes and it's only through these experiences and education that we will be able to get an idea of what the hungry and homeless are feeling.

Pre-flection

Learning about the hunger and homelessness that surrounds is very distressing. I was not aware of all of the people that face these problems in our country. It is estimated that 27 million Americans live with hunger every day. Out of those 27 million 3 million are forced to live in their cars, under bridges, or in shelters on the street. These numbers have not been this high since the great Depression. With our nation once again facing an economic downfall it is inevitable that these numbers will once again be increasing.

Soup Kitchens and Other Actions

With more and more people becoming hungry and homeless soup kitchens are being overwhelmed by the amount of people that need their help. This is also the case with homeless shelters. These institutions are running low on both help and space. With the rough economic times wreaking havoc all over our nation help is hard to come by. A lot of middle class people are being forced to take up second jobs so the time they might have volunteered for is time they need to support their own families.

Learning all of these facts is distressing but it is also motivating. See all of these people struggling makes my five hours on a weekend seem like a miniscule gesture. Any time that can be spend helping those less fortunate than us is valuable. If we begin to show our devotion to our community now the one's who come after us will not feel that they are too good to help also.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Biological and Physiological Needs
These would be the needs a homeless individual would need to focus on. Without food and shelter or warmth the individual's life would be in danger and any chance of climbing the pyramid would be erased. If the individual cannot fulfill the lower stages of the pyramid they cannot focus on the less basic needs. They will need to focus on having something to eat and a place where they can keep warm. These basic needs include air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Safety Needs
If an individual who is under the poverty line or homeless can provide themselves with the basic needs, their safety needs will be the next issue. If they have a shelter this will be their basic safety from the weather elements. But the areas these individuals usually inhabit are crime ridden and dangerous so just a house will not provide them with enough safety. They are rarely surround by a safe environment which further limits their ability to flourish.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Belonging and Love Needs
These needs could theoretically still be fulfilled by homeless individuals. I doubt it would be in a work group that this interaction occurs. But there is not a reason for individuals of that group to interact and form relationships that lead to love. This love could lead to the creation of a family. But in the circumstance most of these individuals live in it would be hard to support a family.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Esteem Needs
Beyond the first three steps, it is hard to imagine that a homeless individual could fulfill the needs closer to the top of the pyramid. Without an education or career it would be impossible for an individual to have a high social status or responsibility. Their responsibilities would be mostly centered around their basic needs and less around the reputation they have with people. They would not have a sense of achievement due to the lack of a job and in most cases family.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Self Actualization
This need would never be fulfilled by a homeless individual unless in some freak case that is what they wanted to do with their life. As Maslow states a need cannot be fulfilled until the need below it is completely fulfilled and the person does not have to worry about it on a daily basis. So without fulfilled esteem needs the homeless individual could not begin to grow as a person and do what they truly want to.

Lifeline

Hello, my name is Dragan Bijelic and I am nineteen years old. I am the son of Ruzica and Zoran Bijelic. I have one brother named Dubravko who is twenty-nine. I was born in the small town of Jajce, Bosnia. In Jajce, I spent most of my time at my grandparents' house. Although my hometown is Jajce, most of my childhood was spent in a town called Sipovo which is located about 15 miles away. Sipovo is where most of my dad's side of the family lived. As a child, I loved any activity that did not involve sitting, so I can only imagine that I was a pain to keep an eye on. Since my mother's side of the family was in Jajce, I did a lot of driving back and forth between cities. Luckily, in this process I made a lot of friends for the future. This moving, however, would be cut out when war broke out in 1992.

The breakout of a civil war in Yugoslavia pitted Croatians, Serbians, and Muslim Bosnians against each other. Due to the fact that my mother is Croatian and my father is Serbian, my family was forced to move to a part of Serbia the war would not reach. Sadly, this move was not a simple one because my father was in the army and we had to leave everyone else behind. This whole national separation put a huge twist on the war for my father and many others. Since Jajce was in Bosnia and Sipovo in Serbia, many soldiers from the cities fought against friends they could have been sitting with just a couple of days before. Not only did some fight against friends, some had to fight against family, such as in my father's case. These connections led some soldiers to evade their service and get arrested. Other soldiers did not leave the army. They simply did not fight and rather helped their families as my father did.

When my father's duty was fulfilled we were able to move to Sabac, Serbia where I could finally begin school in peace. My parents and I first lived with my mother's aunt and I began attending kindergarten. I loved being able to just go to school and not worry about having to move anymore. When I started first grade my family did move, but only a few miles away to a house of our own. Along with attending school I began to practice soccer for many hours a day and eventually fell in love with sports. I finished first grade and began the second and it seemed like things were finally settled down. Seemed...

During the civil war, the Serbian army had taken control of many Bosnian regions and the U.N. started seeing some of its military actions as genocide. The U.N., along with the U.S., wanted Serbia to expedite Slobodan Milosevic so that he could be tried for acts of crime against the human race. In 1999 when Serbia refused the U.N. and U.S., forces began to bombard major cities in Serbia, Sabac being one of them. There was a military base across the street from my school and when it was bombed, the shock wave blew out all of the windows on my school. After the first night of the bombardment and hiding in a shelter underneath a hill near our house with many other families, we decided it was time to move back to Sipovo.

After moving back to Sipovo, I resumed my education with my cousins and friends. With our house having been burned in the war, my Uncle, Dad, and other family members spent a lot of time rebuilding each other's houses. Times were not great but it was a lot better than a state of war and people were just happy to have their houses and land back so they could continue with their lives. My mother worked as a pharmacist in Jajce and my trips there once again became a part of my life. My brother had moved to Zagreb, Croatia where he could finish school and start his own life. I finished third grade in Sipovo and I thought it was the first of many school years to come, however, another large change was about to consume my life.

My parents realized that the situation was not improving and decided it was time to take our lives across the ocean to the United States. This was not a change I had expected and it has probably had the most impact on my life. We first moved to Tucson, Arizona in the year 2000. Tucson was not only a different city but both a different climate and temperature. We were not accustomed to the blazing temperatures. This extreme heat was unbearable and I only completed fourth grade in Tucson. After one year in Tucson, we decided that it was time to move to a more suitable climate. My parents had friends in Detroit and decided that this would be the easiest move and it would make us closer to home. We moved to Shelby Township and it had proven to be the most consistent move for us, considering we still live here now.

I attended Roberts Elementary where I not only continued my education, but also fell in love with the game of basketball. From that point on, it has been a huge part of my life. Little did I know, basketball would later decide where I went to college. After Roberts Elementary, I went to Malow Junior High where I joined my first organized basketball team. This opportunity later allowed me to join the Varsity team of Eisenhower High School as a sophomore. I enjoyed all of my schools and I was one of few people who were sad to leave high school. It was a great experience and I will always look at it as one of the best times of my life. Playing basketball has opened many doors for me. It has allowed me the chance to get scouted and be offered a scholarship to Madonna University where I hope to further both my academic and athletic career.