This assignment I held dear to my heart. I love children.

I always have had a passion for

helping children, as I’ve always been interested in child development and childcare in general,
even at a young age. Growing up I went through an adverse childhood event that has followed
me and will follow me forever, and because of that trauma, I developed the need to advocate for
children and any forms of abuse, specifically that of a sexual nature. Children are innocent and
deserve to grow up the best they can to live a happy and successful life, and because of this, I
started to realize the interest and fascination I have with psychology in general. Why do we
humans behave and act the way we do?
Regarding the organization of my project, my search terms are what helped me form the
structure of my presentation. As I mentioned in my oral presentation for the project, my search
terms helped create my concepts and followed a pattern of intersectionality within my topic. This
led me to form a cohesive structure, something like a “past, present, future”. What I mean by that
is, I started with the risks, focused on the effects, and ended with the advocating. Why does this
happen, what are the effects of this happening, and what can we do to help spread awareness? I
wanted to create a presentation that not only brings awareness to the effects of child sex
trafficking but also gives me space to educate others on how to advocate for victims and possibly
help prevent this. This is a topic I believe deserves more coverage, so making sure to include the
necessary information to get people interested was my purpose.
There were a few challenges I faced throughout the project. One of those being my
limited knowledge of how to do proper research. Before the project, I had never done a
presentation that required as much research as this one did. In addition to that, the professor
taught us how to do proper research with credible sources and proper use of citations,
specifically APA. Which I was not used to either, as prior to studying psychology I practically
only used MLA formatting. Throughout my process of putting together my presentation, I gained
a hefty skill at reading journal articles, researching credible and accurate sources for the topic I
wanted to cover, and am now competent at using the newest up-to-date APA formatting. Another
challenge I faced is paraphrasing the readings I did do within my research. I’m usually used to
using quotes rather than putting the research or source into my own words, and having to do this
was a challenge but made me realize that it’s very important to understand the language of
research and proper usage of research within a presentation, document, etc. All in all, I enjoyed
delving deep into a topic I was interested in and able to teach to my fellow classmates, as it
helped me crack my shell a bit, especially having to present in front of a group. Thanks to this, I
feel more confident going into doing research and using proper references. I also gained the
ability to prepare myself in an efficient way for a presentation in front of other people. Which
was the hardest part! But because of the research I did, I felt rather confident coming into the
presentation, which is key to presenting properly.
In addition, while I did my own research, I did take my intro to psychology course
alongside this course, and a good amount of the topics I researched I was fairly familiar with
because of the knowledge gained from that course. Specifically the concept of
psychopathologies. I had the ability to add context because of this knowledge. As well as
concepts discussed in the class itself. Lifespan development and child development was the
heavily discussed topic within the class, so the knowledge of ACE, children’s mental health
based on situations, and others, helped me understand what I was researching.
Overall, this presentation taught me a lot about not only the topic and research, but about
myself and my interest in psychology and the human life. I enjoy learning and I think its
powerful and a big privilege I have as a first generation student. Using this to the best of my
ability is what I aim to do throughout my entire educational endevours. This assignment brought
a lot of that determination out of me and taught me that I can do whatever I put my mind to and I
will do big things in my life. Being able to truly understand the things I have a passion for, and
advocating for those who need the most support, is one of the most impporatnt things to me in
my own life. Having the ability to advocate efficiently is truly empowering. I hope to help others
in their lives, and the more I learn and gain experience in the field of psychology, I will be able
to do just that.