Running head: THEMATIC ANALYSIS Running head: 1

Thematic Analysis
OGL 482
Lindsay Snowden
July 22, 2018
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Introduction

Before completing the thematic analysis of my life, I’ve always felt that there were

consistent traits that characterized my life. This analysis has confirmed that belief. What

I’ve found is that pieces of my personality and life experiences shape my choices,

passions and desires. Analyzing my own life-themes has helped me understand more

about my drive, my ambitions, and how I fit into this world and my workplace.

Thematic Analysis Process

To begin this process seemed overwhelming. Looking back over not only the

entirety of my coursework, but my entire life presented quite a daunting challenge. I

knew immediately that I would have to be organized in my approach, and develop a

system for keeping my data in order.

The process included first reading through the assignment guidelines. Next, I

opened all of the documents listed in the assignment guidelines, as well as additional

documents that I knew would be beneficial to the analysis. I re-read my own material

quickly. After gathering a general idea of my data and myself, I created a document that

would become my final project. I created the entire format for my paper to use as a

template to fill in the information as I went along. I first made a list numbered 1-10 and

gave each number 5 bullet points. I also added an area for “contradictory evidence” and

beneath that, an area for my “impact and reflection”. After creating the template, I went

back to my data sources.

Taking time and effort to pour over each data source and code each one was time

consuming. As I read over each document, I entered prominent themes into a separate
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document with a data source code to know where the theme came from. Afterwards, I

grouped similar themes together and came up with 10 cohesive themes that represented

my life. These themes are:

1. I have a strong sense of independence and enjoy autonomy in the workplace.

2. Creativity is important to me both in my personal and professional life.

3. Working with others or as part of a team is satisfying to me.

4. Personal development is important to me.

5. I enjoy being a leader and leadership plays an important role in my life.

6. Helping others is important to me.

7. Being a wife plays a significant role in my life.

8. Family is important to me.

9. Being organized is both a value and a passion of mine.

10. I am averse to authority in the workplace.

After creating my list of 10 themes, I focused on filling in the bullet points for

each theme using supporting material from my coursework. While some material had

already been selected during the coding process, much more data was needed for each

theme. I did this systematically by pouring over each assignment (again) individually

and filling in my bullet points with the associated material. This made sure that I was

not going through each document several times and helped me feel more organized. As I

stumbled across contradictory evidence, I made note of it in the appropriate category.

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In addition to creating my life themes and supporting evidence, I also made the

legend for my data sources. As I used each document or assignment in my analysis, I

added it to a table that I had prepared for the legend. This helped to ensure that I listed

every data source that I did use, but did not list data sources that I did not use.

Data Source Data

Source
Code

AzCIS Interest Profiler AzCIS-IP

AzCIS Holland Personality Types AzCIS-HPT
AzCIS Skills Profile AzCIS-SP
Personal Narrative PN
Ten Years Out TYO
Interviews with significant others ISO
Values Worksheet VW
DISC Assessment DA
TalentToday Self-Assessment TTSA
Managing Oneself (By Peter MO
Drucker)
Career Anchors Assessment CAA
Identities Exercise Worksheet IEW
Jung Personality Type Test JPTT
The Lemming Dilemma LD
Ideal Organization IO
Occupational Cluster Profile OCP
Three Questions 3Q
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1. I have a strong sense of independence and enjoy autonomy in the

workplace.
 In the TalentToday personality assessment from ASU, I scored a 7/10 in the

“Dare” orientation for autonomy. The results stated that I like to benefit from a

certain amount of independence, and prefer to work autonomously rather than

under supervision. (TTA)

 My primary career anchor is independence/autonomy. As for needing autonomy

and independence in my work, I don’t like to be held down by rules. The more

tightly and strictly I am bound to rules, the more likely I am to find ways to rebel,

or bend them. I need autonomy and independence in life and being strong willed

and free spirited is a big part of my personality. (CAA)

 One of the traits under the “Dominance” category on the disc assessment is being

self-sufficient and individualistic. Dominance was my second highest scoring

trait. (DA)

 In my personal narrative I recount several job positions I’ve had throughout my

life. Including currently being a shift supervisor (not talked about in my

narrative), most of my career options have held positions where I have some form

of independence and autonomy in my job role. Being a nanny allowed me to work

as I wanted to without supervision, as did being a preschool teacher. Being a

teacher, as long as I followed guidelines for curriculum and the standard school

rules, the world was my oyster. I often worked unsupervised and the role was

almost completely independent. Being a shift supervisor is similar. As long as I

am helping meet the goals and abiding by the standard rules, I can run my shifts

however I want. (PN)

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 On the DISC assessment I scored comparatively on compliance compared to my

dominant trait. This indicates that I am independent/uninhibited, and “long for

freedom and go to great lengths to achieve it”. I do not like to be tied down by

rules and will always find a way to work outside of them if I feel I am being held

down too tightly. (DA)

Contradictory Evidence:
 Enjoying working on teams and with other people would not be an indication of

the need for independence and autonomy. (AzCIS-HPT, AzCIS-IP, JTTP)

Impact and Reflection:

Independence and autonomy is a theme that has pervaded every part of my life.

I’ve always enjoyed doing things myself, being left alone in my work, and taking the lead

so that I didn’t have to be under the leadership of anyone else. Though in my younger

years this trait came across as being “bossy”, in my adult life I’ve learned to manipulate

this characteristic of myself to find work that allows me to work independently. I’ve also

learned how to use my independence and autonomy to my advantage as proof that I can

work unsupervised. This has contributed to being promoted in the workplace and

gaining trust from my managers. On the flip side, I’ve also had to learn how to ask for

help. I think one of the biggest personal developments in my adult life is understanding

that it’s ok to ask for help, working on a team can be better than working alone, and that

asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Being able to learn and understand this has

contributed massively to my enjoyment and ability to work on teams.

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2. Creativity is important to me both in my personal and professional life.

 On the AzCIS Interest Profiler I scored the highest in the artistic category. The

profile states that this means I enjoy activities that deal with the artistic side of

things. It also mentions that I like self-expression in my work and can work

without following a clear set of rules. (AzCIS-IP)

 In my interview with significant others activity, both my husband and my

manager discuss creativity as an inherent part of my personality. (ISO)

 On my values worksheet, creativity is listed as one of my top 5 values. Being able

to be creative in both my personal and professional life is significantly important

to me. To me, creativity is a form of self-expression for everyone and opens doors

to the brain that other activities cannot. (VW)

 On the AzCIS Skills profile creativity is my number two “very satisfying skill”. In

the Holland Personality Types this translates into having an artistic-type

personality, which says I like to express myself freely and enjoy variety and

creativity. (AzCIS-SP, HPT)

 After reading “The Lemming Dilemma” we were asked to consider structures in

our own lives. One of the categories was “Natural Talents and Gifts”. In this

section I talk about my innate talent for creativity and how it impacts my world

view. Being creative is not just a quality I have, or something that I do. Creativity

is part of my identity and shapes how I think about things in this world, what I

advocate for, what I like to do, what I believe, and how I see this world. (LD)
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Contradictory Evidence:

 In the TalentToday personality assessment from ASU, I scored relatively low on

creativity (4/10). I personally think this may be a result of the way the questions

were worded as I know creativity is a very real and true part of who I am. (TTA)

Impact and Reflection:

Creativity is not a surprise theme in my life. In fact, creativity is probably one of

the most defining themes in my life. My creativity has connected me with others and

made me life-long friends, it has defined the way I view life and what is important, and

it was a very important element when I was a preschool teacher. My creativity is

probably one of the top three characteristics that anyone will name when you ask them

to describe to me. Its prevalent in every self-assessment I’ve taken, and is obvious in my

career choices and hobbies. It was interesting to read through my coursework and see

just how pervasive this theme is both in my personal and professional life. It is even

present in the way I lead and connect with others. Creativity will be a theme in my life

that has been and will continue to be defining and long lasting.
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3. Working with others or as part of a team is satisfying to me.

 On the AzCIS Holland Personality Types profile, I scored the highest in the social

category. The profile states that this means I like to work with people, I enjoy

helping, understand and teaching others, and that I am friendly and considerate

of others people’s feelings. (AzCIS-HPT)

 As has been apparent in many self-assessments that I’ve taken, the DISC

assessment placed an emphasis on my social ability. It stated that I am socially

oriented and have a strong self-motivation to get to know people in all walks of

life and to nurture those relationships, and that I enjoy the sharing in the ideas of

others. (DA)

 In my Interviews with Significant Others, my manager mentions my strength of

being able to work with others and have compassion for them. She talks about

how I am able to both connect with and coach them. This is indicative of my

passion for working with others. (ISO)

 My second highest scoring category on the interest profile for the AzCIS

assessment was “social”. This trait indicates that I like activities that assist others

and promote learning and personal development. It also says that I prefer to

communicate over other work methods, and enjoy teaching and helping others.

While these traits are indicative of leadership, I think my natural inclination

towards enjoying helping others is a clear indication of my passion for working

with others and being a part of a team. (AzCIS-IP)

 One of my top values is community. Being able to build a sense of community

with others is very important to me both in my personal and professional life.

(VW)
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Contradictory Evidence:
 Independence and autonomy are my primary career anchor. (CAA)

 I aspire to work from home, independently. (TYO)

Impact and Reflection:

Working to be part of a team without being overbearing is something I’ve had to

learn over the years. However, learning the value of having teammates with different

skills is now one of my favorite things about being on a team. In my early years, I did not

understand how to be a part of a team or how to recognize everybody’s individual

talents. Now, I love having diverse people with a variety of skills on my team. I have

learned to let others help share the load of a project, of a rush of business. I’ve learned

that there is strength in numbers, rather than weakness in depending on others.

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4. Personal development is important to me.

 Personal development is one of my top 5 values. Being able to recognize when we

need some personal growth in our life is a defining characteristic of who I am. I

am always striving to become the best version of myself and encourage others to

do the same. (VW)

 Part of my personality profile is that I enjoy helping others. Helping others, to

me, includes inspiring them to find their passions and become the best versions

of themselves. Not only do I believe that personal development important for

myself, but for others as well. (JPTT)

 One of my failed goals this year was becoming a health and wellness coach

through Beachbody. I wanted to inspire others to get healthy and stay on track.

Encouraging other towards becoming their best selves is important to me. (MO)

 In my “Ideal Life” scenario I am a life-coach. My ideal career would be to coach

others through personal development and be a source of inspiration for them.

(VW)

 My personal narrative is a search for finding my passion. For a long time I felt

lost and had no direction, but found my calling in my early twenties: helping

others. In searching for my own passion, I went through some personal

development. I had to grow and learn from my life experiences in able to find

what I was truly called to do. (PN)

Contradictory Evidence:
 I did not find any contradictory evidence in regards to this theme.
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Impact and Reflection:

The older I get the more introspective I seem to become. Over the years the

intensity of the importance of personal development in my life has increased. I

remember personal development becoming especially important to me about 6 years

ago. I had a year of bad experiences and found myself at rock bottom desperate for

something to help me change my outlook on life. Since then, personal development has

continued to be an essential part of my life. Using personal development to inspire and

motivate others has always been innate to me. Reflecting on my coursework and seeing

the importance of PD throughout my life makes me feel thankful that it is something

that is consistent in my life for myself and in my attempts to help others.

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5. I enjoy being a leader and leadership plays an important role in my life.

 In my TalentToday personality assessment from ASU, one of my highest scores in

the “Management” orientation was leadership. The assessment results noted that

I am influential and like to make decisions in a group and that I find it easy to

assume the role as a leader. (TTA)

 In reading over the article “Managing Oneself” by Peter Drucker, I was prompted

to consider if I consider myself a decision maker or an advisor. Because I believe

the ability to make decisions is an important part of being a leader, my reflection

on this content is associated with this theme. My response to the prompt was that

I was both a decision maker and an advisor, but predominantly a decision maker.

“When I understand the standards and parameters, I have no problem being

direct and affirmative in decision making. When I am unsure of the goals or

standards, I am more likely to seek advice.” (MO)

 My secondary career anchor is Managerial. This anchor applies to me in the sense

of looking “higher levels of responsibility, growing opportunities to serve in a

position of leadership, and increasing contribution to the overall success of the

organization”. (CAA)

 For three years I worked two jobs. Starbucks was a supplemental income that was

meant to help me pay off some credit card debt. For three years I never had any

intent to promote with Starbucks because I never thought I would stay on very

long and being a preschool teacher was my primary income. In the prompt from

Managing Oneself, I was prompted to consider some goals that I had been

successful at. Promoting at Starbucks was one of the goals I had set and achieved

for myself. Only after I had quit the preschool did I consider becoming part of the
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management team, and I’m so glad I did. Being a shift supervisor at Starbucks is

my perfect place in the company. Having this position has had such an impact on

my life and has shown me how leadership is a natural ability for me. (MO)

 On the Jung Personality Type Test I scored as, and always have, an ENFJ. This

personality type is known to be a natural born leader who is drawn to helping

others. Career fields often recommended for this personality type include

teaching, coaching, counseling, and advising. This personality type has always

been true for me and is a true reflection of who I am as a leader and as a person.

(JPTT)

Contradictory Evidence:
 The fact that I like autonomy and independence in the workplace could be seen as

contradictory to my passion for being leader. Independence could imply that I

prefer to work alone while being a leader insinuates that I like working as part of

a team. (CAA)

Impact and Reflection:

Though I had been a leader while working as a lead preschool teacher, working as

a leader in my current job position is so different. In my current position, I am in charge

of leading a team to meet certain goals. Being the leader as a preschool teacher meant

setting a good example for the children and being able to work autonomously. Being a

leader now means building relationships with my adult co-workers, being an example,

encouraging and inspiring them, helping them find their passion, and inspiring them

towards common goals. Being in my current job role has shown me my natural tendency
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to be a team leader. Because I am good at being a leader and enjoy it, this aspect will be

important in my search when I switch careers.

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6. Helping others is important to me.

 In my Ten Years Out assignment an important part of being happy with my life is

having a job where I have a positive impact on others. Working for the HR

department of Starbucks allows me this opportunity. (TYO)

 One of the trademark characteristic of an ENFJ is their desire to help others. This

personality type takes a genuine interest in others and looks to help them learn

and grow. ENFJ’s connect with others easily and often put their needs second to

everyone else’s. (JPTT)

 One of my top values on the values worksheet is community. Community is

important to me because it is a symbol of people coming together and supporting

one another. Being able to help create a sense of community means helping

others feel valued and included. (VW)

 In my personal narrative, I find my true calling when I start teaching preschool.

Even though after 10 years of working in the field I decide it is not for me

anymore, what I do realize is that the more general calling is to help people. (PN)

 I am innately a people-person. I enjoy working with others, problem solving with

others, teaching others, and inspiring others. My entire life is indicative of

wanting to help others on a close, personal level. My highest ranking category on

the Holland Personality Type profile is “social”. It talks about helping others,

teaching others and understanding them. Every personal assessment that I take

gives me some kind of feedback about how I enjoy people and helping them. Any

work, assessment, or essay I’ve done as part of my degree program is evidence of

this theme in my life. (JPTT, AzCIS-HPT)

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Contradictory Evidence:
 Nowhere in my coursework does it show I enjoy or engage in volunteer work.

This could indicate that I am not authentic in my desire to help others. However,

my desire to help others comes from wanting to help in a close personal way. Not

a general, volunteer-work type way.

Impact and Reflection:

As I have contemplated what kind of work I would like to do outside of Starbucks,

one of the most prominent qualifications is that I am in a position where I can help

others and have a positive impact on them. My coursework has reflected this common

theme throughout my degree program and my life. While I know I have always had a

natural inclination towards helping others, this analysis has shown just how pervasive

this theme is throughout my life.

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7. Being a wife plays a significant role in my life.

 In my Ten Years Out assignment I am not living in Austin (near my family),

rather my husband and I are living in Washington. This is because my husband

despises Austin, TX and wants to live on the west coast if we ever decide to leave

Colorado Springs. This is an indication that I care about and consider my

husband’s feelings. It is also an indication of the impact he has on my life and my

choices. (TYO)

 On my Identities Exercise Worksheet one of my roles is being a wife. I mention

that this role impacts my life-decisions, my daily decisions, and my daily routine.

Being a wife is a significant part of my life. (IEW)

 Who I am as a wife to my husband is important to me. I strive to be supportive,

sensitive to his thoughts, feelings and emotions, honest with him, and

accountable for my actions. I practice personal development so that I can become

a better wife to my husband, and grow as a person with him. How I strive to be as

a wife reflects my personal values. The two are intertwined. (VW)

 Being an ENFJ is an integral part of who I am as a wife. An ENFJ in a romantic

relationship “doesn’t need much to be happy, just to know that their partner is

happy. Making others’ goals come to fruition is often the chiefest concern of

ENFJs, and they will spare no effort in helping their partner to live the dream”.

This is true for me as a wife. (JPTT)

 Caring for others is a theme that has long been present in my life. It has also been

consistent, and is no different when it comes to how I feel about my husband.

Connecting and caring for his emotional well-being is important to me. These
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qualities are characteristics that coincide with my social ranking on the Holland

Personality Type profile. (AzCIS-HPT)

Contradictory Evidence:
 I did not find any contradictory evidence against this theme.

Impact and Reflection:

Being a wife has affected so many areas of my life that were unexpected. Mostly

my life is affected by being a wife because I care about my husbands emotional well-

being. For example, I will not force him to move back to Austin because I know how

unhappy he will be in the heat, traffic, and during allergy season. I do not want to get a

job that will move us away from his current job because he is working on promoting

within his company. I consider his feeling when I make certain choices, and I look out

for his happiness. On the flip side, as his wife, he encourages and supports me. Being a

wife is so pervasive to my life that it will always affect every choice I make, whether its

personal or professional.
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8. Family is important to me.

 Though family was not among the top 5 values on my values worksheet, in my

ideal life the entire reason for me moving to Austin is to be near my family.

Throughout my life my family has been important to me because they love,

appreciate, and support me no matter what. Also, being a part of my niece and

nephew’s lives is very significant to me. Living in Austin would mean I could be

close to them and involved in their lives. (VW)

 In the narrative about my life, I move to Minnesota to live with my sister. In my

adult life, my big sister has played a significant role in my experiences. Moving to

Minnesota when I was 18 and living with her, becoming a part of her social circle,

and depending on her for emotional support drew us closer than we had ever

been. Moving to Minnesota with her was the beginning of our close-knit

relationship in our adult lives. She is still a very important and significant part of

my life. (PN)

 In my Ten Years Out assignment, though I am not ideally living in Austin near

my family, I still mention that my lifestyle allows me to visit them three times a

year. Realistically, I will never live in Austin because my husband refuses to move

there. Ideally though, someday I will have a job and a lifestyle that allows me to

visit them as often as I want. (TYO)

 In reflecting on the structures in my life that shape my world view, having a

close-knit family plays a significant role here. The family structure I had growing

up and the way I was raised impacts how I expect a family to behave. I am close

with my extended family and this also impacts who I am. Being close with family
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makes me feel supported, loved, accepted, and included. Without my family, I

think I would feel very lost. (LD)

 In my ideal life I am living in Austin, which would put me very near my family. A

lot of my life revolves around when I get to see my family in Texas, including my

future career, my future home, and my current and future financial situation. The

more often I can travel to see my family, and have the ability to do it with ease,

the happier I am as a person. (VW)

Contradictory Evidence:
 Family is not one of my top 5 values on my values worksheet. (VW)

Impact and Reflection:

Family is something that has always been important to me. Every summer we

would come to Colorado Springs and spend 6 weeks with my aunt, uncle, grandma and

6 cousins. We became good friends with our cousins and I developed a close relationship

with my aunt and my grandma. Now, my focus on family is more oriented around my

niece and nephews. This month I missed my nephews birthday in Texas and I was very

disappointed. Something that has become very clear and evident through assignments

such as the Ten Years Out scenario, my ideal life, and completing the values worksheet,

is that being able to visit my family in Texas dictates certain aspects of my life. For

example, I would move back to Austin to be near them if I could. Since I can’t, it’s very

important to me to have a job where I make enough money and acquire enough vacation

time to visit them several times a year. My family are not just some people I see when

it’s convenient. My family are a big part of my life and I will make choices that increase

my chances of spending more time with them.

THEMATIC ANALYSIS 22

9. Being organized is both a value and a passion of mine.

 In my TalentToday personality assessment from ASU, organization was the

highest scoring trait in the “Management” orientation. The results state that I like

to plan and methodically organize my time., and that I want to have total control

over my timetable. (TTA)

 Organization is a trait that is associated with the ENFJ personality type. (JPTT)

 One of the potential careers on my list for after I graduate is working in office

administration. I’ve wanted to work in office admin for quite some time now

because I think it will allow me to utilize my organizational skills and passion.

Coincidentally, business administration was the second highest rated profession

listed on my occupational cluster profile. (OCP)

 On the Three Questions prompt, organizing is one of my sources of joy. (3Q)

 One of my strengths listed on the Three Questions prompts is that I’m organized.

(3Q)

 In response to reflecting on Peter Drucker’s “Manging Oneself”, I mention that I

am skilled at generating organized results. Recently, we has an interim manager

at our store while he was waiting to be assigned his own store. He commented

that the task lists I had made for our staff were very organized. This is very typical

of the results that I produce. (MO)

Contradictory Evidence:

 On the AzCIS Holland personality types profile I scored relatively low in the

conventional category which talks about liking to keep things organized and in

order. (AzCIS-HPT)
THEMATIC ANALYSIS 23

 Organization is not listed as one of my top 5 values. (VW)

Impact and Reflection:

The first thing I will do in any new job or job role is organize things. Making

things easy to access and easy to find through organization is a necessity for me in the

workplace. When things are misplaced or don’t have a home, I become easily frazzled or

frustrated. It’s been said that artistic minds are often messy and disorganized. While

this might be true in some aspects of my life, my workspace is always organized. Even

my schoolwork is well organized. Understanding this theme in my life and this aspect

about myself will help me to find a career in which I can put this skill/passion to use.
THEMATIC ANALYSIS 24

10. I am averse to authority in the workplace.

 In the category for “Adapt” in the TalentToday my score for respect for authority

is a 3/10. This element states that this low score indicates that I don't like

organizations that are too authoritative. I like to benefit from a certain freedom of

action, sometimes to the detriment of applicable rules. (TTA)

 On the DISC assessment, I scored comparatively low in the compliance category.

This means that I don’t like rules and restrictions, and have a heavy preference

for freedom and individuality. (DA)

 My drive to fill positions that have me in a position of authority or leadership is

an indication of how I want to have authority over myself. (JPTT)

 My desire for autonomy and independence in my career indicate my dislike for

having to work under someone else’s close supervision. I prefer to be able to work

at my own pace, and in my own way. (CAA)

 In my ideal organization, I would be working with minimal supervision. (IO)

Contradictory Evidence:
 I enjoy working as part of a team. (AzCIS-HPT)
 I have a personality that gets a long easily with others. (JPTT)

Impact and Reflection:

It’s only been recently when I was having problems with a previous manager that

this theme in my life really stuck out to me. Through my coursework and coming to

realize the importance that autonomy and independence in my work role, it has become

more and more clear to me that I respond negatively to active authority in the

workplace. Through discussions with someone close to me, I have also come to this

realization. It was interesting for me to see it reflected in personal assessments and in

THEMATIC ANALYSIS 25

my other coursework. Being able to understand this element about myself will help me

to better choose a job role that fits my needs.