Jim Mandelin: Self Analysis

In the class this week, we had a presentation from Jim Mandelin, in which we heard his story from his childhood of abuse, to his life in prison and in gangs, and to the present to where it appears he is overcoming most of the adversity he has faced in his life previously. In my life, when I have faced struggles and overcome adversity, I tended to have done it by myself without much support from others, for the reason I tend not to inform others of my struggles to not become less in their eyes. Moreover, at times when others have become aware of my struggles and adversity they had the habit of not giving out much support, but rather I was meet with a ton of verbal abuse for struggling, aside from my older sister who did support me on the occasion
Similarly, the adversity I have overcome has been vital in myself becoming the person I am today, and due to this I feel that I am more self-aware of myself, and others. In the case of myself, I am more aware of my thoughts, and I now tend to engage in positive self-talk to garner support and belief of myself that I realize that I crave for, which in turn, allows myself to not crave it from others, which has lead myself to become vulnerable in the past (Shebib, 2016, pg. 22). In addition, I still have work to do in completing my healing and growth, and one way I find that I can accomplish this is by attempting to find an individual that is willing to help me deal with my struggles, and to empower myself, whether it be from counselling or a personal
188). Once I enter the criminal justice system, it is vital that I am able to help the individuals in the system to rehabilitate themselves and reintegrate back into the community, and this will likely be done with them being able to change to gain power and control of their lives. My job will be to increase helpful thinking for them (Shebib, 2016, pg. 201), and hopefully I am able to accomplish my goals that I have set. Likewise, I have always had faith in the fact that people can heal and change if given the opportunity, and Jim’s presentation only enhanced this belief. By witnessing someone as Jim, tell their story that has involved extensive suffering and be able to change, it should give all people hope that one can heal and change if they are given the opportunity as Jim