My Journey Map | Willa Wamsley

Introduction

As I was starting H200 in my freshman year, we were asked to think about how the past few years has been for us and what we want to accomplish in the next few years. This was then constructed into our own Journey Map. The purpose of this project was to provide a glimpse of the student I was at this time. This journey map shows how ambitious and driven I was, but I also was set on one goal for my career, which was to specialize in knee pain in physical therapy. My goals have since changed, and I am now open to several different specializations as a future physical therapist, including neuro, travel, and inpatient physical therapy. As I think about my current journey map, I have met many of my goals and continue to develop new goals for myself as I get closer to beginning physical therapy school.

My Original H200 Journey Map

My Actual Honors Journey Map

Reflection

Throughout the past few years, I have been exposed to many different settings of physical therapy that have opened my eyes to more potential areas that I may enjoy. When I started as a freshman, I knew I just wanted to specialize in knee pain. As I have volunteered, worked, and shadowed in many different settings and learned about them in class, I've realized that I may not only want to go into orthopedics. This has shown me the amount of growth I've had just by getting out of my comfort zone and being open minded to many opportunities.

One of the ways I have been able to get out of my comfort zone is through volunteering. As an honors college student, we are asked to complete 10 hours of volunteer work every year. I wanted to find something that would suit my interests, so I decided to become a volunteer for our Motor Activity Clinic and later at the Ability Fitness Clinic as well for individuals with disabilities. As a volunteer, I was paired with a student and their client, working with individuals of all ages. I assisted with many activities for the kids including volleyball, bowling, dancing to music, and swimming in the pool.

With the AFC, I wrote workout plans every week for my client that associated with their goals and what they also enjoy doing. When I started this, I was very nervous and lacked confidence in myself. By the end of the program, I felt much more confident and found myself having fun with it as well! These experiences pushed me into a position where I had to learn quickly how to be confident in myself, and it has helped me immensely going into more recent experiences that I've had, such as my internship with Live Laugh Dance, attending interviews for physical therapy school, and leading guided exercise sessions at NeuroHope Wellness.

Looking at my past journey map and my actual journey map shows me that I was able to meet my goals in my academics and get into physical therapy school like I dreamed. What I wasn't thinking about was my growth in confidence and how everything that I became involved in would change that. As I finish my senior year, I am excited to see the growth I will have as I go through my internship, graduation, and starting a new chapter in physical therapy school.