What Do I Need to Stop Being a Victim?

 

How to avoid being a Victim? Can a Victim become a Creator?  In On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life, Dr. Skip Downing defines Victims and Creators. To him, Victims are people who don’t obtain their goal because a negative situation appears and stops them. And Creators are the ones who seek alternative solutions to face the negative situations to achieve their goals. (Downing) If being a Victim or a Creator depends on the way I face the negative situations, then, it is a choice. Well, I choose to be a Creator and obtain my goals. But I know it is not always that simple. Normally everyone tries to achieve their goals, but sometimes some people can’t find the solutions to the negative situation as easy as other ones. But, it is a choice! And this choice comes with attitude and with a stubborn and creative mind.

 

In the blog article “Do You Think like a Victim or a Creator” the professor David Mirman tells a story that explains the different between Victim and Creator. Two students go to a new class. The teacher asked them to bring the textbook to the next class, but it is sold out in the college bookstore. The next class one student (the Victim), couldn’t find the textbook and blamed the college bookstore because they not get the textbook yet. But, the other student (the Creator) arrived with the textbook. The teacher asked her how she got it. She explained she tried to find it in different bookstores, but they didn’t have it. Then she looked online, and she found there a secondhand textbook. Mirman indicates, the way someone faces the problems it will make the difference between being a Victim or a Creator. He says “Rather than continuing as a Victim, resolve to become a Creator”. (Mirman) 

 

After reading about Miman’s article, I thought about the times when I was a Victim. When I came to the US, I knew it would be difficult for me, especially for the language. I tried to find English as a second language classes in Newport News, but I couldn’t find them. I know only a few people here, and they don’t know about those classes. It is not fair! In other cities (like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, etc.) you can find English as a second language classes in many places. Now I know I was a Victim. I have a problem and I couldn’t find the way to resolve it. But, I met a girl who told me about English as a second language at TNCC. I was lucky because someone took me away from the Victims zone. But, what should I do in that situation? First of all, if I didn’t find English classes in Newport News, well, I should of gotten a map and see which cities are close to Newport News, and try to find the classes there. If I don’t know how far away the classes are, I could use google map and see how long would be the trip from my house to that class. And maybe, I could find classes before in cities like “Hampton” or “Williamsburg”, 30 minutes away from home. I need to think creatively and don’t give up. I need to think like a Creator.

 

When I think about a Creator, I think about Erika, a girl I met in El Salvador. She is an intelligent, talented, hard worker and kind person. The situation in El Salvador is really sad and difficult, and her story is not an exception. But she never gave up. One day, she decided to build a kitchen for her grandmother. She didn’t have enough money to do that, but as a Creator, she was creative and built the kitchen with some mud, water, and other materials by herself. I saw her achieve some of her goals. She is a Creator. She faces the negative situations in her life with a great attitude, and finds solutions to them.

 

Finding solutions to the negative situations can be difficult sometimes. Only if I don’t give up, I will obtain my goals. Right now, my big goal is to find myself in this new country. If I don’t give up, I won´t stop to find the options to resolve the problems and if I think creatively, I will find the perfect solution to avoid the problem and achieve my goals. Those are the keys. Now that I know the keys, I will stop being a Victim and start being a Creator.

 

 

Worked Cited

 

Downing, Skip. On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2014. Print.

 

Mirman, David. "Do You Think like a Victim or a Creator?" You Are The Prime Mover. 2 Jan. 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. <http://youaretheprimemover.com/2012/do-you-think-like-a-victim-or-a-creator>.