Reflective Learning Essay: Personal Experience and Learning

This reflective essay details the author's journey of learning and growth through social work, specifically focusing on the issue of drug addiction and the author's evolving perspective on it. Initially, the author believed that the banning of drugs was the ultimate solution, but through experience with a project called, "Disparities Among People with HIV Who Inject Drugs", they realized that the incompetent manner of drug usage was the core problem. The author then began to advocate for the decriminalization of drugs, particularly medical marijuana, as a means of helping individuals, especially those suffering from HIV. The essay emphasizes the importance of relational learning, which broadened the author's thought process and provided a new perspective on the problem. The author concludes by highlighting how the lessons learned have positively influenced their approach to tackling problems from different angles to find the best solutions.

REFLECTIVE LEARNING
Reflective Learning
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REFLECTIVE LEARNING
There are many things that a person learns in the course of his or her work. Often
times, such learning are deemed to be important for the growth and development of
the human civilization. This flows from the fact that through learning only a person is
able to understand the working of the world in a better manner. Relation learning
refers to this process of learning. I learned a valuable lesson during my academic days
when I was a teenager. It enabled me to see the world in a better light and also
supported me to be of help to others. This essay seeks to understand how relation
learning has enabled me to help the human society. In this process, I have explained
my situation and the lessons learned therefrom in this essay.
I have always been interested in social work since I was a child. I wanted to help
people to deal with their problems when they are caught in a vulnerable state. As a
result of my aspirations, at the age of eighteen years of age, I decided to help those
people who are suffering from the problem of drug addiction and therefore enrolled in
a project known as Disparities Among People with HIV Who Inject Drugs. In the
initial stages, I thought that the banning of drugs was the ultimate solution to the
problem. I saw the people who are adversely impacted by such drugs and could not
help but feel that it was the drugs which was the source of the problem. However, it
was at much later stage of my work, that I learned that it was not the drugs but their
usage in an incompetent manner which was the problem. As a result, I felt that it was
the decriminalization of such drugs which would prove to be an effective answer to
the issue of drug related problem.
I therefore advocate the use of medical marijuana. Medical marijuana has been
made legal in the state of Maryland and the people should be encouraged to use this
product in a manner that can potentially help them to improve their livelihood. In this
regard, the doctors and the professionals should try to identify the different strains of

2REFLECTIVE LEARNING
marijuana and prescribe the relevant ones to the people who are suffering from the
problem of HIV. It has been seen that HIV patients are in a lot of pain and suffering.
The use of medical marijuana would enable them to reduce such pain and provide
temporary relief to them.
In conclusion it can be seen that the learning that I gt from my project is quite
helpful. It enabled me to see the issue from a different angle and helped to broaden
my thought process in the meanwhile. The lesson learned during that time period has
had a positive reflection in my life today where I can use this learning to understand
the different problems affecting me now. I try to tackle the problems from different
angles so that the best solution is possible.