While working for Victoria University, myself and my Argentinian co-worker were eating, when another co-worker came in for some banter. However this banter went from simple banter, to racist, when he called my co-worker an "Argentinian dog" in a joking manner. This offended me as I couldn't understand why he didn't use an insult that didn't have racial undertones, or simply swear. I called him out on the spot, asking why he had to be racial, when he could use a regular swear or even get creative, but instead fell into racism. His actions went against my values of treating people with respect, and not using things they cannot change such as circumstances of birth. I felt good calling him out, and my co-worker thanked me as well as he was uncomfortable. However I think I should have spoken further to the racist co-worker to try and explain why what he did was wrong.
My family has a very conservative outlook. So I grew up thinking conservatively, voting only for National kind of outlook. They were not the best parents to put it politely. This made me question conservatism, and meeting my high school girlfriend's parents who were incredibly left learning created a catalyst for my own independent thinking, such as "what do I value?". I started realizing the conservative outlook was very individualist, and was more focused on stepping on top of others to get ahead, rather than working together. This to me didn't make sense. Why would we want to put others down, or use Race, Religion or Sex to determine how qualified someone is. This caused me to spend a long time reflecting on what I value, which is more of a collectivist view. Where we can all work together to make a better future for all, to treat everyone nicely, to help those who look like they need help, and to give to others that need it.
Using a Meyer and Briggs test, I got Logician (INTP-T), I then self identified my own strengths within it, I see my strengths as follows, Novel Perspective, usually using metaphors or hypotheticals to convey an idea, as well as a truth focused effort, citing history or sources. I place great emphasis on fact-based understanding, ensuring your decisions are soundly reasoned and thoroughly researched. Quick to See Patterns,as I feel there are patterns in most things, whether it be technical, or behavioural. I am driven by curiosity, I love to learn things that I previously didn't know. My genuine eagerness to learn ensures continuous growth, leading to regularly expanding my skill set, which is shown by joining this course! I am very adaptable and thrive in adversity. I am very independent and self-sufficient.
I think growing up with conservative parental techniques, I grew resistant to forms of structure, routines and repetition. This can cause me to have difficulty in completing tasks, as rigid systems or procedures can demotivate me, Or I become bored with the routine and repetition. On top of this I struggle with self-promotion and networking, struggling to show off or talk about my strengths. I am also partial to procrastination and delaying my tasks, causing last minute stresses that could have been avoided. These will have to be a conscious focus for my work and development at devacademy as well as future jobs.
My previous job didn't offer opportunities for collaborative work and was very individualized. However, now that I have a child, parenting has become the work, and although there hasn't been any major resistance or tension, there are always small obstacles and decisions to be collaboratively made. My Partner and I use a variety of strategies and languages to help us navigate parenthood. We use "This makes me Feel" rather than blaming someone for the feelings, with an emphasis on using kind language. We discuss our options and decide together the best course of action with our daughter. We give each other turns to speak to have our say when tensions are high. And while we agree on most things, we always try to reach a compromise where we both feel comfortable.