Attractors

My experience with point attractors

Four different attractors were brought up in Bloch 2005 article. These attractors allow mem to better understand some of the transitions that I’ve went through in life. Two attractors resonated with some of my experiences. Point attractor which caused me to be drawn back to the same point, and strange attractor which didn’t have a distinct pattern. The point attractor for me was and still is education.

Education was always important to me, my parents stressed education from an early age and it stuck with me. I always got good grades, was in honor classes, and took school very seriously. It wasn’t a question for me if I was going to college, I knew I would. Even though in high school I was still unsure of a career I just knew I had to get education, I was drawn to in. I went to college this is where strange attractors “happened” for me. I had no clue what career I wanted to pursue. Growing up I wanted to be an actress but I knew it wasn’t realistic, then a psychologist (I completed my senior project with this career), then it was a forensic chemist, I moved from that to public relations, and finally came to my decision of human service worker which developed into school counselor.

My point attractor was still education. I ended up finding a career in the education field because I have always been drawn to education. Even though I went through a period of strange attractors where a lot of my decisions didn’t make sense, I continued to be attracted to education. I think the fact that I ended up deciding to become a school counselor shows how powerful a point attractor can be. I think it shows even more so because it is not just my education that I am drawn to. As a counselor I will be a support for the education of children, which is something I find extremely fulfilling. I realize that the point attractor of education is not the only reason I’m becoming a counselor but I believe it has a substantial impact on my choices.

As a parent education continues to be a point attractor, my son is 4 years old and just started Pre K this year. My mother is an in home babysitter and has watched him since he was born. She is a very involved babysitter and her children are taught as if they’re in preschool.  However being that my son was her grandchild he thought he ran the place, and would not participate in the learning activities that she conducted. I worked full time so I could only teach him so much. I was worried about his education. That is why I enrolled him into Pre K as soon as he was old enough. It was a hard choice for me because my mother was the only person I trusted to care for my child but his education was what motivated me. He is doing great and learning a lot and I’m happy with the decision I made.  Again my point attractor of education is not the only reason I enrolled my son in Pre K but it had an influence.

Reference

Bloch, D. P. (2005). Complexity, chaos, and nonlinear dynamics: A new perspective on career development theory. The Career Development Quarterly, 53, 194-207.