Social Change Model

Consciousness of Self

Consciousness of self and self-awareness go hand in hand. It mandates an awareness of one’s beliefs, values, and emotions. These are things that can change and develop over time as an individual grows personally, emotionally, and professionally. This means that constant self-reflection and evaluation is needed in order to be fully aware of oneself.

I always knew I was more of a “thinker” than a “feeler,” but freshman of year of college I was constantly asked “why.” The answer of, “That’s just how I always have been” was not sufficient. Leadership class challenged to not only identify our personal beliefs and values but to reflect on how they came to be. Did we think a certain way because of experiences we had? Were our values reflective of our upbringing? Were these things truly what be believed, or what it how we were taught to think?. As freshmen, this was the first time many of our personal views and emotions were truly challenged. We were not living under our parents’ roof anymore and did not have the same guidelines. Were our thought and actions solely governed by the household we grew up in? Were we just a product of our environment? Many questions like these were contemplated and discussed my freshmen year, all the long promoting a value of consciousness of self.

In turn, I found myself applying this to several areas of my life, but most specifically the religious value. My junior year of high school, I found myself questioning the religion that I was raised in and researched a lot about different religions and spiritual beliefs. It was really freeing to be able to say that my faith and religious beliefs are truly my own, and not my parents’.  This had produced so much more confidence and clarity when making decisions for myself because I know that they are backed by my values and emotions, not anyone else’s.