Blog Post 12

 Plans For The Future:

    Over this past semester it has been a fun experience trying something new that I didn't have much experience with. I enjoyed the process and I do plan to continue crocheting I've learned a lot through this semester about what all it takes to crochet. I think that this process has helped me work on patience, learning new ways to destress, and doing something in my free time instead of just watching the T.V or scrolling through my phone. This process has definitely made me understand more what it takes to learn or relearn tasks and how hard and frustrating it can be when trying to do something and it doesn't turn out how you would like it to. To finish out the last blog of the semester I decided to crochet a dinosaur, I thought it would of taken a lot longer than it did and it was much easier than expected. 

Not the best picture but it turned out better than I expected it would. 

Topics That Have Been Influential:

    There were quite a few topics that were covered this semester that are important and have helped me understand the need for occupational therapy and how meaning in created through occupation. Some of the topics that I thought had the biggest influence on my learning was flow, place and space, occupation as identity, autonomy and self determination, storytelling, and story making. I feel that these topics really explained how the use of occupation help creates meaning in someones life and what it can do for someone. The examples used in the readings give a real perspective on how they affect people and what is does for them. 

Recommendations:

    When choosing a new occupation I recommend getting out of your comfort zone, don't try something new that you feel won't be hard to do. Getting out of your box allows you to explore new things and also discover more about yourself. It also allows for more experience and a better understanding of what it takes to learn new things and be able to incorporate it into your everyday life.

Blog Post 11

 Update: 

    This week I ended up finishing my blanket, I thought it was going to take a little longer because I thought I would need to add a few more skeins of yarn. So now I have three extra skeins of yarn that I am going to try to make something fun with. With the last little bit of blanket that I had I think I was zoning out while crocheting because I had to undo a few rows because the pattern got off. I am assuming I most likely missed a few stitches or miscounted as I was going. I have had a lot running through my mind this past week because the end of the semester is going so quickly I feel like I am falling behind and can't quite catch up. I hoping thanksgiving break gives me the time I need to relax while also getting things done. 

Here is the finished product the picture isn't really the best 

Personal Story: 

   Crocheting has been in my life since I was little, I was never really good at when I was younger because I didn't really understand how it actually worked or what all went into it. Choosing this occupation was easy for me because I had already had some previous knowledge, even though it was pretty limited knowledge. My aunt had taught me the basics when I was younger and as I got older I would continue to try but eventually gave up because I could never get it right because it would go from being to loose to being to tight where I couldn't get my hook into it. Looking back I now realize I just didn't have the patience to do it because I now know that the more patience I have when I crochet the easier it is and I can consistently keep an even tension. I feel like crocheting is now pretty important in my life because it helps me take my mind off of things, work on my patience, and help me still be creative.

Blog Post 10

 Update: 

    This week I finished another skien of yarn and I am almost done with another one. I hoping to have to have this skein of yarn done by the end of the day. I also pulled apart and rolled up two more skeins of yarn to get ahead so I can work on the blanket a little more. Nothing has really changed or happened since last week. 

Here's an updated picture

Self-Determination, Motivation, and Autonomy:

    Looking at self-determination, motivation, and autonomy in the participation of my occupation, they can all apply to it in at least one way. Self-determination is taking control of your own life, it looks at you needs, desires, interests, and strengths. Self-determination in crocheting for me would be when I picked it because I needed to look at what route I wanted to take when deciding as well as looking at my strengths to determine if I could do it. Motivation is  the desire to reach a goal, it fits
in because I'm not just doing this for myself or a grade I am doing it for someone else. I want them to like it so it motivates me to work hard on it and do my best. Autonomy is the right to self-govern, it fits into my occupation because we were asked to pick something and it could be anything which gave me the right to choose what I wanted to do for my new occupation this semester.

Blog Post 9

Update: 

    This week I've worked on my blanket some more, I finally finished the skien of yarn I have been working on for the past few weeks and started on my next one. I also spent some time taken apart skeins of yarn and making them into a ball because they tend to get into knots if left the way they came. I don't like dealing with the knots while I am crocheting because it takes me out of my flow, so even though it takes more time to take it apart and roll it together it makes it easier and I tend to get more done when I do it. 

MAC Model:

    Looking at The Meaning and Attentional Components model through the lens of my new occupation I think that is falls under G which is interest (low boredom). I think that it falls under this section of the model because it has both a high meaning and high-level engagement. When I am crocheting I am very engaged in what I am doing because it is easy to make mistakes when you don't pay attention to it especially if it's still pretty new. It also has a high meaning to me because I am not only making this blanket for someone else, it allows me reminisce in the past when my aunt first taught me the easiest stitch. I think without the high meaning that crochet has it would just be a pass time and I would eventually get bored of it.  

Boredom:

      Boredom impacts my occupational choices a little differently than it used to. When I was a kid and I was bored I would find something else to do, like playing outside, reading a book, playing with my dogs, and other things like that. Now when I am bored instead of doing things like that I will either push through the boredom because I have to get it done, or I will scroll through my phone endlessly. Starting up this new occupation has helped me find something new to do when I am bored. Lately when I get bored doing homework or scrolling through my phone I start to crochet instead and I can find myself doing it for hours without getting bored of it. 

Blog Post 8

Update: 

    I was able to do a little bit more work on my blanket. I am about halfway through my 4th skien of yarn and I plan on finishing it this week and moving onto my 5th. This blanket will take around 10 skeins of yarn so I really need to get moving to finish it by the end of the semester. 

Sense Of Occupational Well-Being: 

    Looking at my occupation to determine if it is facilitating my sense of occupational well-being or hindering it, I feel that it does both depending on when I am doing it and what's going on outside of it. The two factors that go with occupational well-being, occupational performance and occupational engagement help determine how my occupational well-being actually is. There are times when my occupational performance isn't great, like when I mess up stitches or loose out of how many I have done. But, when I'm doing good I start to feel better about myself and it help facilitate that senes of occupational well-being. Looking at occupational engagement I sometimes forgetting what this project it about and I feel like I have to keep doing it so that I can get a good grade instead for myself. At the beginning of the semester I decided I would give it to my younger brother as a gift, having this mentality has helped me engage more in my occupation because I am doing it for someone else to. I think that the more I continually engage and perform this occupation it will continue to help facilitate my sense of occupational well-being. 

Seven Occupational Needs:

    The seven occupational needs that are associated with occupational well-being are accomplishment, affirmation, agency, coherence, companionship, pleasure, and renewal. Looking at them through the lens of my occupation I think can both contribute and hinder my occupational well-being. The majority if the occupational needs help contribute to my occupational well-being like the sense of accomplishment, by making little goal and achieving them it pushes me to keep going, affirmation encourages me because other people see what I am doing and it reassures me that it was a good choice, and renewal because it allows me to escape the world for a little while and focus on myself. The one that might hinder my occupational well-being is companionship because I know that I wouldn't get anything accomplished if I were with others because my focus would be elsewhere.

Blog Post 7

 Update: 

    This week I haven't done the best at keeping up with my occupation, I've been pretty busy and constantly on the go. I have done maybe one to two rows, but nothing that is super noticeable. Hopefully this next week I will get back into the rhythm of it and with come close to finishing a skein of yarn or finishing another one. 

Identity Formation: 

    Last week someone commented a different perspective about making crocheting a part of my identity. I hadn't thought about it before because it was something that I was starting as a  just cause and didn't really think it was apart of my identity. Your identity isn't just one thing that defines you but a collection of the different parts of your personality that creates you. To me I see crocheting fitting in with the creative/explorative side as well as my quiet side. Crocheting allows me to try new things like different stitches and patterns, it provides me with "quiet time" when I am feeling overwhelmed with noise. I feel like I didn't really think about my occupational identity when choosing crocheting as a new occupation I think it has played more of a role in affecting the implementation of crocheting itself. Choosing to follow a pattern out of my knowledge when I could have also chosen an easier pattern or stitch allowed me to explore and be creative to try something new.  

Occupational Biography: 

    Our occupational biography connects with our self-identity as we create and recreate it. Our biography is constantly changing, it's an ongoing process where we are interpreting ourselves through the environment we are in. I think that self-identity an occupational biography play a role in my chosen occupation because I am changing the way I see myself. I am not the most creative person and crocheting has helped me become more creative and helped me explore other occupations that I have ended up enjoying.

Blog Post 6

Update: 

    This week I finished another skein of yarn, I've got a total of three done now. I feel like it's coming along, I did realize I was going to have to do more than just a couple rows if I want to get this done by the end of the semester. I have really started to enjoy this pattern and I am no longer having to go back and recount every stitch to make sure it's correct. I hoping to have another skien of yarn done by next week. 

The blanket is folded in half  because it was too long for the camera

Transactional Nature: 

    Looking at transactional nature between me and my new found occupation of crocheting I feel that it has been improving. I've been using crocheting as a stress relief to remove myself from a situation while doing something productive. It also helps me feel a little more at home in a place I haven't been for long because it brings back good memories. 

Self-knowledge, Self-esteem, Self-perception, and/or Self Awareness: 

    For this week I feel that self-esteem and self-awareness all played role in helping me choose this occupation. I had already had some prior knowledge of crocheting beforehand, but it was the simple aspects like how to begin a chain as well as a single stitch, I had no idea what other kind of stitches there were. Self-esteem played a role because of the prior knowledge I had even though it wasn't much, I pretty much told myself that I could do it and had nothing to worry about because even if I were to mess up I could take it out and retry it. Self-awareness played a role in it too because I knew that reflecting on what I had done, my thoughts during the process, and emotions throughout would help be better develop my skills and look at it in a bigger picture. 

Servant, Recruiter, and Mirror: 

    Looking at a perspective of occupation as a servant, crocheting is a lot of doing and fills quite a bit of time. It has brought about meaning since I started crocheting because of the past I've had with it. Looking at it in the perspective of recruiter, crocheting doesn't have the most benefits and can contribute to back pain, sometimes arthritis in the wrist and fingers due to the constant movement of the two. But, it is also a good release of tension on a bad day because it takes a lot of focus. Looking at is in the perspective of a mirror, I feel that I am still working on that aspect because it's something I define myself with, if it was something that I would continuously do it would be a little different. 

Blog Post 5

Update: 

    This week I decided I needed to put a little more work into my blanket to make up from the previous week. I ended up finishing my second skein of yarn and started with my third, it's starting to finally look like something other than some yarn. I am getting less frustrated with myself then I had been in previous weeks and I have found that it has become easier the more that I am engaging in this occupation. I'm still working on my tension, I had to restart a row or two because I started to get too tight as some point. I'm hoping that the more I practice I won't have to think to much about my tension and it will become natural. 

Heres an updated picture of where I am currently at 

Flow: 

    After reading more about flow I found it a lot easier to understand than my prior knowledge. I have definitely experienced flow quite a few times, I think its because when I am doing something I try to put all my focus into it and forget about what's going on around me. The biggest one I've noticed looking back would be when I was at dance practice, I would lose time and when I finally noticed I realized that hours had gone by. I think it was the majority of those practices that it would happen we would go from 4 to 10 and no one would realize it until our parents walked in. Another time that I have experienced for would be when I was playing pickle ball a few weeks ago. It wasn't only because of what I was doing I think it was because of the people I was with. We ended up playing for a few hour with only the intention of staying one. We weren't really focused on the time and the next thing we knew we had already been playing for a few hours. I feel that I experience flow at least once a week and I find it nice because I'm not worried about the time, what else needs to be done for the day, or worrying about other things.   

Potential for flow: 

    This week was very beneficial for me regarding flow, I feel that I was able to get into flow for a little while while engaging in my occupation. I ended up working on my blanket for about 4 hours on Saturday without even realizing it, I only noticed when I decided to take a break for a minute after I had saw my tension getting tighter and needed to fix that area. I think that any occupation has the potential to create an experience of flow no matter how challenging it may be. I feel that the more I practice and work on my tension, the better I will become and the chances of flow occurring will be more likely. Once I get it down I won't be worried whether or not I need to restart a row to fix the problem. 

Autotelic Personalities: 

    Looking at autotelic personalities, people do things for their own sake rather than to achieve a goal, it's for the experience. I personally think it depends on what I am doing somethings I only do because there is an end goal that I am trying to reach I'm not doing it for my own experience. There are things that I do just to experience it instead of reaching towards a goal, but I think it depends on the situation when you're trying to "attract" flow. I think that autotelic personalities have the potential to reach the state of flow especially if they are enjoying it and they are doing it for the experience. I think in my experience if I am doing something for the experience and I am enjoying myself I find it easy to experience flow. Using flow as a motivator I believe that by choosing the occupations that I enjoy will allow me to fully experience flow and not worry about the end goal if there  is one.

Blog Post 4

 Update: 

 This week has been kind of hard to keep up with my new occupation because I have been busy studying like crazy for classes, but I managed to get at least one row completed. I've set a goal to get at least 3-5 rows done each week to stay on track so that I can finish it before the end of the semester. Other than not getting much done, I feel that I have been getting much better with the amount of tension I use with each stitch. The edges of the blanket appear to be straight but I know more when I get a little further into it. I'm hoping that by the time I'm done that my tension will stay the same and the edges will be straight. 

Place: 

   Looking at a place as a "container of experience" I picture my childhood home. I lived in the same place for 19 years, it's where all my firsts happened and I find that it was an important part of my life growing up. Casey also talked about "place memory" which is described as having been in a place, they are intimate memories of our lived experiences of our childhood (p. 40). My home is a place that I will always remember because of the time spent there and the memories made. My home has always been a place for as long as I can remember it isn't just a space that lived in and grew out of. Starting school I had to move and where I am now I see it as just a space that I come to every day, I think that the more time I spend and make memories it will become more of a place to me.  

Aspects of Space and Place:  

   Starting my new occupation I usually only do it in my room which I see as more of a space at the moment. I haven't quite made it into a place yet since its still new and I'm just barely getting used to living here. In the book it states that "as we build experiences into our lives, we create places out of spaces, or as Tuan put it what begins as undifferentiated space becomes place as we get to know it better and endow it with value" (p. 40). With the value I've placed on crocheting, I am hoping that overtime the space I am crocheting in will become a place, I want to be able to build positive memories being here while engaging in my new occupation. 

Blog Post 3

 

Update: 

    I have finished my first skien of yarn and working on getting the second color started. Attaching the two colors was a little bit of a struggle at first because it kept becoming a knot that I had to redo multiple times. It was pretty frustrating, but after 3 to 4 times I was finally able to get it and continue on to get about 4 rows done. Using the two colors is now easier to see the pattern and I am excited to continue and see how it's going to look. 

Enrichment of One's Spirituality: 

    I think that spirituality is something that plays a role in everyones lives whether they realize it or not. I think that spirituality plays a key role in my meaningful occupations, doing them brings me a sense of peace and enjoyment. Having spirituality I believe makes the occupation more meaningful to a person. At the moment I think that I am starting to have a sense of spirituality while crocheting because it allows me to take a step back and do something that I am beginning to enjoy even when I am frustrated. I am hoping by the end of this that it will continue to spiritual to me. 

Inclusion of Spirituality: 

    Spirituality in the OTPF falls under the clients factors, they define it as a deep experience of meaning brought about by engaging in occupations that involve enacting of personal values and beliefs (p. 51). Recognizing spirituality in a clients life allows us to see what is important to them and how it can influence their engagements in occupations. 

Here is a recent picture of where I am currently at.

Blog Post 2

Update: 

    I finally decided on a pattern that I will be following and I am excited for it. I went with a leaf ripple pattern that I will be modifying little by changing the colors to a black and blue velvet and the size of the yarn that was recommended. Im hoping the size won't matter too much and that I will only have to make it a little longer to make it bigger. I've have started working on it a little and have gotten 3 rows into it, I think that I may have to start over just so I can get a hang of the pattern and the stitches that are used so that I can get the ripple effect. It was an easy start, but as I got into the more complicated stitches I was getting frustrated with myself because I kept miscounting and I would have to pull it out and restart from the beginning to the row. Doing the harder stitches is becoming easier the more I practice and I'm hoping that soon I will be able to do them without thinking much about it. 

Here is the link to the pattern: 

    https://www.amorecraftylife.com/leaf-ripple-crochet-blanket-pattern-cozy-velvet-yarn/ 

Definition of Occupation: 

    Hasselkus provided quite a few definitions for occupation, it's amazing how many definitions one word can have. I think that my occupation can relate to all the definitions provided, but there were some that fit better than others. We aren't limited to the definitions that we read, they can be personal because we all can have a different way of defining occupation. 

Model of Occupation: 

    Doing, being, becoming, and belonging was focused on quite a bit throughout chapter 2, but I don't feel like my occupation fits the model completely. I think that it can fall under being and becoming because even though at times it can be frustrating I'm happy to do it and it's something that I look forward to doing each day. 

This is how much I've done so far

Blog Post 1

 

Update: 

    This past week I have been doing a lot of research to figure out what I wanted to learn this semester and settled with crocheting. So far, I have gotten some of the materials that I will need, which includes the yarn and different size crochet hooks. The only thing that I will need now is to determine which pattern I will be attempting to follow at the moment I am trying to decide between two different ones. Before I actually start the blanket I will definitely need some practice on the harder types of stitches and learn more of the terms that way I’m not confused reading a pattern because they use a lot of lingo. 

The Continuum:

   I grew up watching my aunt crochet all the time, I remember her making me a blanket, hat, and clothes for my dolls as a kid. This occupation falls on the self-definition side of the continuum because it allows me to connect to a part of my childhood. It also allows me to step away from what's going on around me because I am focused on what I am doing. 

Calculative to Meditative Thinking:

As of now I see crocheting as more of calculative thinking because you need to know how many knots have been made, how many to skip, or if it's a single, double or triple crochet stitch. I am more focused on what I am doing and I'm not able to think about anything else in that moment. I am hoping over time that it will become more meditative thinking, because I want to get to the point where I'm not constantly focusing on whether I did the right stitch and be able to think of other things while I'm doing it.