My name is Ryane Martinez, and I am currently a student at City Tech who is in the midst of reflecting on the career I plan on pursuing. I am currently working towards becoming a New York Police Officer. This is the best career for me because I believe it will open up the doors for me to have other opportunities I may want to pursue. Another reason I am convinced it is the best decision for me is because I have the desire to make New York a better home for everyone. The third reason why I want to be a Police Officer is because I suspect that Police Officer’s are misunderstood and so are the citizens of this country. I am confident that one day there would be less tension between the people of America and the Police Departments all over the country in efforts to make this country a better home for everyone.

In order to be Police Officer in New York the NYPD asks all applicants to meet these requirements stated by the NYPD recruit website: “all applicants to be at least 17 1/2 years of age and no older than 35 years old with the exception of those who are in the military”, “in order to be hired candidates need to be at least 21 years old”, “applicants must be a citizen of the United States”, “applicants must have a 2.0 GPA with 60 credits from college or the equivalent to that which is 2 years of active military service with honorable discharge”. Over a period of time I have spoken to family members in the Police force in order to understand aspects of the job I did not know of. I was able to grasp that the job can get very tiring at times and all though the pay is not much, I should take tests in order to earn higher ranks in the force. I was also told that other job opportunities come along because of ones success in NYPD. There, I would be able to decide if I want to pursue these opportunities or remain a Police Officer.

Being a Police Officer allows you have job opportunities within the Police Department or in other government agencies. Within the Police department, everyone is given a chance to be promoted. In an article Five Reasons to Be a Police Officer in About Career mentioned that promotions become available regularly “As positions become available, they are typically filled from the lower ranks”. Now, of course you have to earn these positions because they are not just handed out. Depending on how good of an Officer you are, you could even get the attention of an agency like the FBI, DEA or U.S. Marshall. If being a Police Officer is not exactly how you envisioned it, it would not be a problem because there are many opportunities that will present itself. I believe that being a Police Officer is what I long to do, but I also do know I ultimately want to do a job along the lines of criminal justice so I am aware that NYPD is not the only career that will fulfill my desire to make this world a better place. Being a Police Officer will meet all my key reasons for wanting to do this job. The article Five More Reasons To Be a Police Officer summed up the Police Officer job well, “A decent salary, great benefits, constant opportunities to learn new things, and ongoing chances for advancement.  What more could you want in a career?” I do not desire to be rich but I do want to have financial stability. Opportunities will come along whether it’s a promotion or another agency that may want to hire you. Benefits for you and your family just makes this career more appealing. 

New York is probably a place that everyone around the world would like to come visit. It’s also the home of millions of people. But of course a city with millions of people has it’s downside because not every one of these people make this city a better home. The NY Daily News article Murders Up 20% in 2015 Year-by-Year Comparison NYPD Says states “The murder rate in New York City has spiked an alarming 20% in the first two months of the year, prompting NYPD brass to rethink strategy to curb the deadly trend”. New York will probably never be able to experience times with no crimes but it is people like me that strive to one day make a difference. I have come to a conclusion that New York is not a place to raise a family. If you ask me, I would not want to raise my own kids in this environment but I am willing to work as a Police Officer in order to maybe one day make this city a home for everyone.

Most people become cops for the reasons I want to be a cop. I believe the reason most young men and women want to be Police Officers is because they are young and hopeful for the world and they believe they can make a difference. Somewhere along the lines Police Officer’s experience the reality of the world and their hope for society dies out. The one side of the job of a Police Officer that no one will never be able to understand is the danger of their job. Constantly dealing with people that you do not know can be nerve wrecking because you do not know what they are capable of or what they might have on them. I am not trying to justify any wrong doings that Police Officers may commit but I believe they are humans just as much as anyone else with emotions and a family they need to go home to everyday.

New York City College of Technology will allow me to understand what it means to work for what you want. Attending College will push me to keep thinking and planning for my future even if I may not see the results of my work immediately. Further more I plan to enroll into psychology and sociology classes in order to understand people’s behavior and thought process. I am confident that this will help me the day I become a Police Officer because it allows me to comprehend people’s actions and thoughts no matter what culture or background they come from. By doing so, I hope to remain humbled as a Police Officer in order to do my job to the best of my ability to serve the people of New York City.

The process I went through to figure out what I really wanted to do as a career was lengthy. I bounced around from career to career thinking that being a Police Officer would not be sufficient enough to make my family proud of me. I knew I wanted to make NYC a better place at a young age but I was not sure how to go about doing so. As I got in my teenage years I explored the job of a Police Officer in depth by asking questions to family members in the Police force. It’s important to take all aspects of the job into consideration. Some of the important topics that should be addressed and thought about is the pay, benefits, dangers, pros, cons, the most hated part of the job and the best part of the job. It’s also good to reflect on your own reasons for considering being a Cop. Analyze your motives so that you have the right mind set from the beginning. To take it even further, ask Police Officers what were some of their motives when they first joined compared to now. By doing so you will obtain a good sense of what the job is like before actually pursuing it.

Works Cited

Roufa, Timothy. “Five More Reasons to Be a Police Officer.” CriminologyCareers.about.com. About.com, 2015. Web. 14 May 2015.

“Murders up 20% in 2015 in Year-to-year Comparison, NYPD Says.” NY Daily News. NYdailynews.com, 2 Mar. 2015. Web. 14 May 2015.

“Exam & Employment Requirements | NYPDRECRUIT.COM.” Exam & Employment Requirements | NYPDRECRUIT.COM. NYPDrecruit.com. Web. 19 May 2015.

Introduction

In this project, I reflected on my thoughts and priorities. Afterwards, I brainstormed in order to figure out how I should go about changing some attributes about myself.  I then went on to explain the importance of obtaining certain habits.

Thinking In Writing

After looking over my thoughts through out the day I was able to point out some of the thoughts that are always floating around me even when I fail to acknowledge them. On my day of my recorded thoughts I attended a auto show in Philadelphia. My first finding was that this was not at all my typical day of thoughts with a exception of a few topics. Something I fail to acknowledge a lot of the time is the fact that I am very concerned for what my future holds. It’s pretty difficult these days to survive and the thought of the possibility of not amounting to anything is very frightening. There are a handful of college graduates in America with degree’s but cannot find a job within there major and some are forced to work at very low paying jobs because of this. I am very concerned about this because it can very easily become a reality even for me and it would absolutely have no reflection on me, it’s just a reflection of the times we are currently living in. Another thought I found myself being consumed by is the thought of not believing that I could be successful in college. By successful I mean meeting my own expectations. It’s very effortless to lose focus on what is your overall goal in life. I tend to briefly forget what steps I am currently taking to complete that goal and by not completing these steps I could forfeit my goal. I also found myself thinking about irrelevant topics to my life. I would even say that this thought sometimes discourages me from doing what I need to do daily.

I would like to start thinking about steps I could take every day to become more self disciplined. My priorities have to be straightened out and I need to be able to acknowledge what is and is not important to consume my concerns with. I will also like to start making it a habit for me to do all things school related first before doing the things I want to do for the day. Lastly, I would like to find a way to look at everything in a more positive way and be able to change my perception of situations because every situation is what we make of it.

Thinking Visually

1: Officer Ramos was a member of the church I have attended since I was born. I think a lot about his tragic death because it hit close to home considering I knew his family and that I want to also become a Police Officer. These ribbons are all over my neighborhood to show support to the NYPD.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/16408719527/

2: I think a lot about the financial stability I want to have when I get older and have a family of my own. I understand that the people of America’s biggest problem is not knowing how to manage money efficiently.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/16614872521/in/photostream/

3: My passion for motorcycles is out of this world. I consume a lot of my time thinking and working to get a motorcycle in the near future.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/16616012875/in/photostream/

What I want to focus on

4: For some reason I am not able to put in the amount of time I want to in studying for the police officer exam. Between school and working, by the time I come home I’m drained. But I find myself thinking a lot about becoming a police officer and I do realize I need to make the time to study for this exam.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/16428839598/in/photostream/

5: My dog represents my family. My family is my rock and my support. Between everyone’s busy lives its hard for us to spend time together.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/16616038875/in/photostream/

6: I should be focusing on working as much as possible but that can only happen if I manage my time well by completing assignments whenever I can so that I could work the 10-12 hours a day doing plumbing with my step father on my off days from school.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/15993881804/in/photostream/

Thinking Reflectively

It’s year 2020, and I am about to turn 26 years old. I am a Police Officer here in NYC. I moved out of my mother’s house about two years ago and so much has changed. My first two years on the job was a challenge. Being a rookie and walking the beat is not the best part of the job, in fact its far from it. Everyone has eyes on you, and in a way you are looked down upon as people do look for you to make the mistakes most rookies make. In this letter I am going to be pointing out to myself from 5 years ago what I should change about myself or work towards in order to achieve all the plans I had more efficiently. There are going to be ways to prepare yourself for the future by prioritizing college, family, exercising more intensely and managing your time. Focus less on the person you are now and allow the plans for your future become the center of your attention. You may think you prioritize these topics enough already, but I challenge you to be more critical with yourself to prepare for what the future holds for you. It is only going to get more difficult before it gets any better for you, I encourage you not to let any detoured paths you take disappoint you.

Before discussing what needs to be done in order to achieve your goals efficiently, you should take the time to understand all the aspects of being a Police Officer. I do not regret this job but there are a features of this job that should be realized, the pros and the cons. What I would recommend you to do is to acquire a relationship with a retired or current Police Officer from Christ Tabernacle. You are surrounded by very good men at church and you should take the time to meet them and allow them to be a mentor for you as you are becoming a young man quickly. Look back at picture number one, the death of Police Officer Ramos in December of 2014. If you can remember it was very difficult on his family and members of the church. By having a mentor, it will allow you to ask all the question you may have. For example how do Police Officers separate some of their personal issues from their job? How do they deal with the death of a fellow Police Officer? You should even find out how to manage yourself when others are not cooperating with your requests. Being a Police Officer is a difficult job, there is a lot that is unseen and unnoticed. Understanding as much as you can now will allow you to do your job well later on.

Now, my other suggestion to you is to learn how to manage your money so that you may live comfortably when you get older. It may not seem as urgent as I say it is but it’s important to build habits that will benefit you in the future. Picture number two is a representation of how important is to manage your money now. Once you have a car, motorcycle and place to live it will be difficult to save money. You are now able to understand the worth of a dollar and how strenuous it can be to earn money. As you may also know, NYC is not becoming any more easier city to reside in. In fact, they say for someone to live comfortably in NYC their yearly income must be about $175,000. Between the salary of a Police Officer and $175,000 there is a huge gap so I suggest you take this seriously. You have been told persistently to take the time to watch some of Dave Ramsey’s video’s on youtube by your mother and uncle. He encourages people to get out of debt and living within their means. Living by this is the reason for his own financial success. A good start for you will be understanding the difference between what you need and what you want. By doing this, you will be doing right by your future family.

Time management could be arguably be the most ideal skill for anyone to learn. While in college you had a wake call in your second semester. Trying to balance responsibilities at home, school work, working and down time it got pretty challenging. Within a month of starting your second semester you found yourself not prioritizing and slacking off your academics because at times college was discouraging. The load of work you were receive was nothing compared to high school. For that you have the NYC public schools to blame but you can not allow it to define who you are. If you are capable of managing your time, more responsibilities will be fulfilled in a reasonable amount of time. The only one able to invest in you is yourself, the public school system fell short but you have to find ways to fill that void. As silly as it may seem to have each hour of your day on a schedule, it is the only way to move forward at a decent pace. Also, consider technology will continue to advance and you will find yourself being consumed by it without realizing it.

Lastly, and most importantly build a unbreakable relationship with your family. The fifth picture which is picture of Ares is representation of your family. It is very effortless to take them for granted. Undeniably they are the only people that will always been  in your corner cheering you on. Not only will your immediate family strengthen you but so will your extended family. As time goes on, it seems as if the cost of living in NYC gets the best of everyone. The thought of the amount of support you will receive will make everything you have ever dealt with worth it. Many New Yorkers are prideful for no good reason. The environment of NYC makes people feel as if they have to do everything on their own. As young as you are, you have already developed that pride and it could sabotage you in the end.

Take these few tips I leave you with and take it to the heart. Strive for what is yours, you and you only determine your future. At times you may want to settle for less because the school work could be difficult. I may sound cliche for saying this because I know everyone is telling you this, but all this hard work will pay off in the end. Keep the thought of your future family near because it will help clear your mind when you have thoughts of giving up. Instead of dwelling on the strenuous obstacles, grow and learn from them. Those very same obstacles are the exact occasions that will shape and mold you as a man. For what it’s worth, have more confidence in yourself because you are capable of more than you know. Part of the reason you do not have faith in yourself is because you tend to look at past experiences and look upon yourself negatively. As long as you are doing that, you will not grow as you would if you looked for the positive in each disappointment you face. Seek advice from those who are qualified to mentor you. Specifically those who are accomplished or content with their own current success and their knowledge will point you to your own favorable outcome.

Reading this letter made me realize how serious these topics are to me. Even now, these are attributes that I think I should grasp because I am somewhat aware of what I need to work on. By doing so I have be my worst critic. I intend to buckle down and work towards these topics so that I may have good habits for my future family. Every experience I face will be looked at differently, in hopes that I become a positive person.