My Intrinsic Motivation - That's Why I Want to Be a Social Worker

“Why I want to be a social worker?” essay is this is a collection of my reasoned opinions on why I chose this career path. Also I will describe my motivation for entering the field of social work, my personal attributes and experiences that will contribute to the effectiveness as a professional social worker, and my readiness to take on the mission and the responsibilities of the profession. 

I am a first-generation student in my Sophomore year in college. Being in my second year of college has not been easy for me. It has been a bumpy rollercoaster ride getting here. As a first-generation student I had no idea what major to choose as I enrolled college. But, the one thing I was 100% sure is that I wanted to change the world. I thought changing the world could start by addressing the social problems therefore I declared Political Science as my major. I took introductory classes in Political Science and I felt out of place, I felt as if I came blind into this field. In every single class I looked at my surroundings and I had an eye opener which was that changing the world may start by helping children, adults, the elderly, or the most import, the vulnerable. It’s not that Political scientist don’t change the world, but it wasn’t the way I wanted to change the world.

My motivation to enter the field of social work comes from rarely encountering a bilingual or a person of color like me, help my community. It has always been important to me because I want to become the person I wanted to see in my community. I want to be a social worker because everyone matters and because it feels right. Regardless of anything every single human being matters and becoming a social worker will allow me to assist those in need. Regardless of the situation a person may be whether it’s good or bad circumstances everyone deserves to live a life and have support from someone who is willing to fight for them and willing to fight for social justice and willing to go above and beyond to help. Helping is not just about physically helping people but about listening, caring, acknowledging someone’s circumstances, advocating for people who really need a voice, and also guiding an individual who is seeking for help.

I believe that I have the personal attributes and the motivation to be the best social worker that I could be. Back when Political Science was my major I wanted to help in some way. I started helping my community by supporting a sanctuary city and advocating for the people who would best help the community. At a young age I went out of my way to care and consistently help those around me whether it was my parents, my relatives, or even the neighbors with translating English to Spanish. I saw the struggle in their eyes when they weren’t able to communicate with others and I took the role of being their translator whenever I was around. It is my younger experiences who has motivated me to be generous, consistent, devoted, understanding, and proactive to assist those in need.

To this day I can still remember the day I saw fear in my mother’s eyes. Kids trip, kids run, and kids fall but when a 9-year-old falls off the bed and scrapes his forehead we see a social worker knocking on the door. My mom was frightened and did not understand a single word the social worker was saying, and in to this moment my heart shatters because there was a language barrier and on top of that my mother was not able to defend herself. As a little girl I had no clue what was going on besides the fact that my mother was scared. When I think back to this incident, I’ve concluded that the school had my brothers’ best interest and I understand why the social worker was there that day and I am glad that there was someone looking out for the children of the school. But it also reminds that because I couldn’t help back then as a little girl now that I’ve grown older, I want to help the defenseless and prevent misunderstandings.

The social worker I aspire to be is someone who has genuine connection with those who need help because caring for someone and looking beyond where they are and see who they truly can be is special and important. I am ready to take fight for those in battle because there are not enough people who will put others before themselves. My need for helping others comes from knowing that changing the world starts with helping one person and being able to empathize with them. Experiencing firsthand the struggles of others will allow me to be the voice for the voiceless people and dedicate my career to help those who cannot overcome their own problems alone. Because someone who can’t be heard needs a voice, needs someone to give them comfort that everything will be alright as along as we fight together for a fulfilling life.

As a pre-social work student, I am ready to effectively practice the social work program mission and comply with the ethical academic standard as well as the academic standards. I am committed to the social work career to the advancement of human well-being and the promotion of social and economic justice for all.