TO: Ms. Rosanna P.

Permijo
FROM: Domalanta, Ashley Jade V.
RE: Assessing Learning Activity

I. Answer each question in no less than five sentences in the box provided.

1. How do the worst moments in your life make you into who you are today?
’ve been struck over the years by how some people with major challenges seem
to draw strength from them, and I’ve heard the popular wisdom that that has to
do with finding meaning. And for a long time, I thought the meaning was out
there, some great truth waiting to be found. But over time, I’ve come to feel that
the truth is irrelevant. We call it finding meaning, but we might better call it
forging meaning. I survived that childhood through a mix of avoidance and
endurance. What I didn’t know then, and do know now, is that avoidance and
endurance can be the entryway to forging meaning. After you’ve forged
meaning, you need to incorporate that meaning into a new identity. You need to
take the traumas and make them part of who you’ve come to be, and you need
to fold the worst events of your life into a narrative of triumph, evincing a better
self in response to things that hurt. Some of our struggles are things we’re born
to: our gender, our sexuality, our race, our disability. And some are things that
happen to us: being a political prisoner, being a rape victim, being a Katrina
survivor. Identity involves entering a community to draw strength from that
community, and to give strength there too. It involves substituting “and” for “but”
— not “I am here but I have cancer,” but rather, “I have cancer and I am here.”
When we’re ashamed, we can’t tell our stories, and stories are the foundation of
identity. Forge meaning, build identity, forge meaning and build identity. That
became my mantra. Forging meaning is about changing ourselves. Building
identity is about changing the world. All of us with stigmatized identities face this
question daily: how much to accommodate society by constraining ourselves,
and how much to break the limits of what constitutes a valid life? Forging
meaning and building identity does not make what was wrong right. It only
makes what was wrong precious. We don’t seek the painful experiences that
hew our identities, but we seek our identities in the wake of painful experiences.
We cannot bear a pointless torment, but we can endure great pain if we believe
that it’s purposeful. Ease makes less of an impression on us than struggle. We
could have been ourselves without our delights, but not without the misfortunes
that drive our search for meaning. “Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities,” St.
Paul wrote in Second Corinthians, “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” “Go
out and tell someone.” There’s always somebody who wants to confiscate our
humanity, and there are always stories that restore it. If we live out loud, we can
trounce the hatred and expand everyone’s lives. Forge meaning. Build identity.
 Forge meaning. Build identity. And then invite the world to share your joy. It
made me think about bad things in my life that have made me who I am as a
person. One bad thing that has happened in my life and changed me is having
my 3 year old cousin pass away of brain cancer. This tragedy has changed the
way that me and my whole family think. We definitely put things into perspective
a lot more now. From the day you are born you are put through many obstacles.
Some are good while others are bad. The good things that happen to me do
impact my life a lot, but the bad ones do too. I agree that the worst moments in
our life make us who we are. The good things that have come out of people's
bad moments. Some people that have had extremely bad things happen to them
and how somehow something good came out of it and it made them who they
are. It influenced my answer to the question "what matters to me" because it was
a very powerful statement and it made me think of any of the bad things that I
have been through and how it made me who I am today.

2. What ways and positive approach can you share in dealing with the mentioned
challenges and life demands?
No matter how difficult things get, there is always something positive to gain
from our hardest times. But like many things in life, it doesn’t always come easy.
We must actively seek the meaning and place it in a new context. Negative
situations happen all the time. We can’t avoid them, so how can we counteract
their negative effect on our lives and our attitudes? Learning the power of
positive thinking helps us stay positive even in the midst of tragedy. Learning
how to stay positive in negative situations is invaluable in leading a healthy
lifestyle. Here are the ways I am dealing with the mentioned challenges and life
demands: Having a Positive Support Group-It’s important to have a positive
support group that will help each member through difficult times. Notice that I
said a “positive” support group. Surrounding yourself with positive people will
help you stay positive when in a negative situation. There are plenty of negative
people out there—avoid them! Their negative attitudes will only bring you down
and be counterproductive to what you are trying to achieve by practicing positive
thinking. Learn more about the power of people around you: The Hidden Power
of Every Single Person Around me. Express What I am Grateful For-Even in
the worst of times, most of us realize that we still have things in our lives for
which we are grateful. I voice those blessings. I am practicing gratitude, I talk
about the things grateful for with my closest friends, my support group. Keep a
gratitude journal to capture the thankfulness I feel for what I have on a daily
basis. Actively acknowledging what I am grateful for will help me to always have
a grateful mind and heart, even when bad things happen. Retraining My Mind-
Retraining my brain to stop doing that to myself. The more I talk negatively to
myself, the more that negativity will become a part of me. Instead, practice the
power of positive thinking. Any time a negative thought comes into my mind,
replace it with a positive one. At some point, this will become more natural as my
brain automatically turns a negative into a positive. Exercising My Body And
Mind-We know that exercise is good for our bodies, but what about our minds?
Sure, it is. It releases those natural endorphins in our brains that make us feel
better. Exercise has physical as well as mental and emotional benefits. Getting
out there and moving around will keep my body in better shape, as well as
boosting my self-esteem for having the discipline to exercise. I also try adding
yoga into my exercise routine now and then to help me learn to really focus and
meditate. Exercise is an excellent way to fight the negative effects of bad
situations. Accepting and Finding Solutions Many of us are resistant to
changes in our lives. What we must do is learn to accept that change will
happen. Haven’t you heard that “the only constant in life is change”? There is a
lot of truth to that, as we continually go through changes, whether good or bad.
Accepting that changes are a part of life can help us to relax and be more
accepting. I am trying to look for the positive aspect. Expect the Unexpected-
The difference between good problem-solving and great problem-solving may
come down to the ability to deal with unexpected situations. This may include
taking time in advance to think about the “what if’s” and prepare for the “just in
case”, or even simply remaining composed under the pressure of the unfamiliar.
Accepting the Unexpected Despite all the preparation, something unexpected
will still happen, because life is so full of surprises – negative ones included. I
believe that there is nothing wrong with feeling frustrated at first, but instead of
dwelling on the thought of “This shouldn’t have happened”, shifting my mindset
to “Now that this has happened, how do I deal with it?” Staying Optimistic-This
may be one of the most challenging steps as it relates to my feelings and
thoughts – I know, those that I do not openly express to others while talking
about a certain problem. Consulting Others-Surely someone around me has
been through similar experiences that might inform my search for solutions.
Involving my friends, and checking with my family to see what they have to offer.
Asking for advice and considering multiple viewpoints widens my perspective on
options that you may have overlooked. Using Creative and Critical Thinking-
Skills Problems come in all shapes and sizes, and some are more complex than
others. Therefore, engaging both my critical and creative thinking skills is of
paramount importance. For instance, using my critical thinking to analyze the
problem, and shift to creative thinking to generate options, then again to critical
while evaluating options, keeping in mind that the best solution may be in
combining multiple options – creative again. Planning for Results-I determine
what a successful solution looks like, then work backwards to find the best way
to implement it. This will help me deal with the actual problem instead of its
symptoms. For instance, if I am trying to build a productive team while facing the
challenge of employee turnover, I may think that the solution could be hiring new
employees, whereas the successful solution may be training the existing team.
Don’t Give Up- Nothing's more annoying than recurring problems, or problems
 that do not seem to ever get solved. This may sound like a cliché, but I don’t give
up; I keep trying and trying again. Looking at the same problematic situation with
fresh eyes and thinking of innovative ways to address it. Finally, I do not hesitate
to contact the experts in providing solutions if I feel I needed assistance. I always
believe in the statement of Confucius in dealing with my challenges and life
demands, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we
fall.” More tragic changes, such as death, will throw us off even worse. But when
our brains are practiced on how to stay positive in negative situations, even
tragedy won’t destroy us. With the power of positive thinking, we can learn to put
negative situations in perspective and to deal with them as they arise.

II. You are tasked to write down a metaphorical symbol of your youth.
Explain your metaphorical symbol in no less than three sentences.