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My name is Sheldon Unrau. I am a born and raised Canadian. I have put together a collection of images to portray who I am, and who I intend to be as a helping professional.

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For most of my life, my identity has been defined by external factors such as material possessions, achievements, or opinions of those around me. In recent years I have discovered the limitations of this attitude. Today my identity is defined by my character, not by what I own, what I drive, or how I compare within the hierarchy of society. Identity rooted in character clarifies who I am and reveals how I need to improve to be a better person.

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The notion of identity through character building is why I have selected Social Work as a career, although, in some ways, it feels like Social Work chose me. Two years ago, I was a struggling salesperson. I was always working for the next dollar, the next possession or accolade. I felt stuck. One night during a moment of reflection I had a thought that crowded out all else..."Sheldon, you are always trying to see what you can get from the world...what if you focused on what you can offer instead?"

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A Guiding Value for me is personal responsibility. Responsibility is often confused with blame. Personal responsibility has proved to serve as a sense of empowerment in my life. At times I have felt powerless due to circumstances, personal responsibility has helped me to discern which things are out of my control and which things I can work on. As I progress through my social work career I hope to assist clients in feeling empowered through Self-Determination.

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My family, We are a quirky bunch!

I haven't always been close with my family, but as I get older I become increasingly grateful for all they have taught me. My family taught me about honesty, love, tolerance, and loyalty.
Even in my worst moments my family never gave up on me and loved me regardless of my choices. My parents especially have taught me so much about love. I hope one day I am able to live up to the values displayed to me by my family.

Below is a link to a song I feel provides justice to all my family has taught me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFOk2AMpuwA

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A Value that is very important to me is altruism, "The selfless devotion to the welfare & wellbeing of others". Altruism acts as a guide in my life, moreover, it provides me with direction when I feel lost. I truly believe the act of trying to help others has saved my life. I hope altruism will act as an "intuition" when assisting clients in my social work career. In addition, Altruism is particularly interesting to me because it seems to be universally positive regardless of background; Maybe because it is an expression of love for mankind?

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Above is my best friend Marcus. He has taught me so much about how to become someone of positive character, how to be honest, and how to effectively help others. When I got into recovery I met Marcus, I had very little experience in helping others. Marcus has been a mentor, friend and support to me through everything in my life the last five years. Marcus has taught me about what true friendship can be if both people are utilizing humility and altruism as a guide.

If not for Marcus, I would not have the courage to become a social worker.

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This is Daisy. She is constantly teaching me about how to take care of someone effectively. Daisy has been my pal for four years, and although it may sound silly she has taught me a lot about unconditional love. Daisy strikes the perfect balance between fun and caring. I hope as a social worker I can be a little like Daisy and provide clients with a positive experience while they work towards their objectives.

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I chose this photo to express my love for music. Music to me represents connection, self-exploration, and reflection. I have had many experiences where I was able to work through a difficult issue or get answers to a question by listening to certain artists. Music makes me not feel alone, and sharing it with others is even better. Helping others provides me with a very similar "connected" feeling to listening to a beautiful piece of music. In addition, Listening to music has become an avenue for my father and I to re-connect over the years. Sometimes a song can say things we do not have the courage to say ourselves.

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This photo represents the most negative relationship I have ever had. As I have shared in previous assignments I have a history of substance abuse. Drugs took everything from me, my family, my job, my home, my friends etc... This photo represents loneliness, loss of direction, and unhealthy comforts. I still have a relationship with drugs and alcohol today in a sense. I do not discount that these behaviors are a part of my makeup. Today I work on positively working through my problems so I do not end up going back to a life of substance abuse. My hope is that this photo remains nothing more than a representation of my past.

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This photo is a representation of the word "coddiwomple" Which means “to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination.” I am in a place in my life where I do not worry about my final destination. I try to focus on my daily demonstration of character and let the destination figure itself out. Some days this is easier than others, but I trust it.

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This photo represents my sense of humor. I am quite the jokester. Life is so serious, and although I do not want to discount the need to be serious at times I still like to provide a good laugh when its appropriate. I feel humor for me offers clarity, sometimes a good joke can put everything in perspective. Leaving humor aside, I am really enjoying having fun with the youth at my job. I have found sometimes fostering a "lightness" to life can allow the kid to enjoy being a kid while living at Hull services.

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A story was shared with me once. A man trapped in a dark cave, unable to see anything, surrounded only by the sound of crying. In the distance, he saw a staircase with a light coming from the top. He began his ascent, days passing before he finally reached the top.
There, he met a man holding a candle. The man handed it to him and said, 'Now go back, and bring someone else out with you.

I feel this story represents who I want to be as a person and as a helping professional. Not scared of being in darkness in pursuit of helping others.

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The poem above explains who I want to grow towards as a social worker and as a person. I feel in order for me to be of maximum benefit to others I need to know myself and be willing to operate with 100% authenticity. Authenticity is a journey that looks different for each of us, but I hope by the time I complete my studies I have grown in this area. As a client of social workers and social support in the past, I have always appreciated when someone is honest and real with me.