Trials and Triumphs of Learning American Sign Language

I have lost track of how long I’ve been doing this goal but I know that it has not been going well. However, I suppose that depends on perspective. As far as doing the goal goes, I’ve not been successful, but as far as learning from this experience, I have been extremely successful. I was supposed to be accomplishing a SMART goal. A SMART goal is almost like any other goal except that it is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. These five attributes are supposed to make any other goal better. They’re supposed to make any other goal more likely to be accomplished. So far, however, my goal has hardly been accomplished. My goal was to learn American Sign Language through watching the ASL discs I own every week until the end

Psychology textbook author, Wayne Weiten, defines Coping as “active efforts to master, reduce, or tolerate the demands created by stress.” I’m a bit of a procrastinator and so what many procrastinators like to do is make up excuses to make themselves feel better when they’re not doing what they should be doing. For example, I like to clean. I get a lot of cleaning done when I’m stressed out. I may not necessarily be avoiding homework or something like that, too. Sometimes I just clean to stop me from thinking about all the stuff on my plate. My grandma’s house is really fun to clean because she’s got two cats. And they shed. A lot. Pretty recently actually, I decided to take rubber gloves and rub all the fur off of every rug and every piece of furniture in the house. When I was done, there was enough fur to make two new cats. She was really surprised about the amount of fur I got off the rug that she just vacuumed. Anyway, getting distracted by cleaning again. Although I don’t always use this method to procrastinate, I think it is one that procrastination, and thereby stress, has taught me. My social life has helped improve my stress mainly because of my family. Families are great because they’re there for me. Highly recommended. Earlier in the semester, I had an issue with sleep because I had to take the bus. I would wake

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is “a systematic arrangement of needs, according to priority, in which basic needs must be met before less basic needs are aroused,” (Weiten). For example I’m able to even have a goal like learning a language because my most basic needs, like physiological needs and safety and security are met. My goal might have been much more different if I was often hungry or didn’t have “long-term survival and stability,” (Weiten). Other “middle” needs like belongingness and love needs and esteem needs are also already boxes checked off in my list of needs. I have both “affiliation and acceptance” and “achievement and gaining of recognition,” (Weiten). Overall, I’m happy with my resources and I’m happy with my needs and so my goal doesn’t necessarily benefit any of those needs, however, my goal is based more on self-actualization. Weiten defines this as “realization of potential,” and learning American Sign Language is definitely a part of reaching my full potential, and so that’s why this goal exists. However, it’s possible the main reasons it gets pushed back are because every now and then my lower needs are not met. Overall though, my goal doesn’t much relate to any of the other needs besides the need for self-actualization, in which this goal exists purely because I realize I am capable of learning ASL, and it’s just a matter of time before I reach that