Blog Post #3 

    

    This week in the progression of my new occupation I found that there is a lot more detail work than I quite remember during my initial time participating in pottery. I think that I can attribute this to the fact that when I first learned the craft of ceramics it was during a high school class where there were a group of us sitting at one table with consistent time set aside each week for our projects. If I am remembering correctly, we had about an hour and a half two days a week that we had to work on our current project and specific deadlines to meet, as there were multiple required pieces to be turned in throughout the semester. Looking back, I think this provided a small sense of urgency but also created important specific time that could not easily be overlooked or skipped. When working on my project this last week, (which I am still doing in my living room) I was surprised at how long it is taking me to get the correct shape, the ridges of the pumpkin, and the details to look a certain way. Overall, it is still going well but the amount of time needed to create my desired results is more than expected. 

    Having a strong sense of occupational well being is a important to creating a high quality of life full of meaning and purpose. My chosen occupation does bring in a sense of occupational well being for me because I get a satisfaction from creating things with my own hands and knowing that I accomplished something. I want to investigate two different sides of my occupational wellbeing. First, focusing on the creative and leisure side of my well being it is evident that participating in ceramics has positive impact. I have a new hobby that I can do when I have free time to step away from the business of my everyday life and that allows me to tap into my creative side, which has for many years now I think been overlooked. Bringing in a new occupation to my life has most definitely developed a new sense of occupational wellbeing. Secondly, I want to look more at my occupational well-being as a master's student. Concerning this occupation, I think I would rate my level of occupational well-being far on the performance side, in that I want to learn and receive high grades when participating in graduate school. Now, to do this is easier some weeks than others depending on what is required for that specific week. It just so happens that this last week, flowing into the current week has been quite demanding, not to mention time consuming. Projects and examinations all seemed to be scheduled right on top of one another creating, for me, a sense of not having quite enough time in the day. Observing this last week/weekend alone I would say that the new occupation of pottery has creating a small hindering to my occupational well-being regarding being a graduate student. As I stated earlier, pottery can be quite detail based and take up a good amount of time even if when first sitting down to work on a project that was not the intent. I also mentioned that I am still doing ceramics in my living room instead of at the ISU craft shop and this is directly correlated to the fact I have not felt as though I have enough time to stay on top of my studies and go to the craft shop. I want to relate this fact to the sense of occupational well being regarding social relationships. When I work on my ceramics project in my living I can do so while spending time with my family which is an important part of my social occupational well-being. With limited time in the day where I am not actively being a graduate student, especially this past week, I found it was important to me that during my free time I found a way to incorporate my new hobby with my family time. In doing so, I might not have made the same amount of progress I would have in the craft shop, but I was still able to engage in my occupation, which as of now is where my well-being is originating from, and I was able to do so while spending time with those closest to me. Balancing a busy schedule can be difficult but finding ways to adjust is key to allowing time for all occupations that contribute to an overall sense of well-being. 

    Identity can have a large impact on the well-being of a person and how they go about their daily lives. In the article that was read in class, they observed how not being able to participate in previous occupations effected both care givers and care receivers' well-being along with their sense of identity (Hasselkus & Murray, 2007). I think that engaging in meaningful occupations creates a sense of well-being and with it an identity is formed. You can identify with being able to do certain tasks and this creates an expectation for yourself and for those surrounding. When old occupations are taken away and we are no longer able to participate in them this can cause us to lose our identity. Often times what we do is so intertwined with our own personal identity that when an important occupation is taken away, we feel lost or empty and not ourselves. An example of this is when a care giver no longer has anyone to care for but that was their sole occupation. Now they feel empty and their sense of well-being along with their identity is gone. It is important to engage in new occupations in to create a sense of well-being that will in turn influence a person's identity. Engaging in occupations gives a sense of accomplishment and provides meaning to everyday life. We as humans often tie our identity to what we do so when we are not doing anything, what is our identity? The importance of having new occupations is clear in that without them our identity is lost and so is our well-being. 

Hasselkus, B. R., & Murray, B. J. (2007). Everyday occupation, well-being, and identity: The experience of caregivers in families with         dementia. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 9–20.