Bridges serve two primary purposes: 1) to get you TO something and 2) to get you OVER something. In this activity, you will build a character bridge that will serve to get you to being the person of character you want to be AND will get you over the problems and other obstacles that impede you in some way.
The character bridge serves as a visual representation of your commitment to “crossing the bridge” or overcoming obstacles in your life that are keeping you from reaching your ultimate goals. The previous exercises have served as opportunities for you to make meaning of why you made a decision that led to a student judicial hearing and sanction as well as how you may problem-solve differently in the future. Keeping in mind the character traits you currently have and aspire to exhibit and your problem-solving strategies, take some time to create your own “character bridge.”
Using the attached picture, fill in the various aspects of the bridge.
1. Write the behaviors/decisions from your violation of the Code of Student Conduct at the “starting” (left) side of the bridge. Are there other current behaviors or traits in your life that you are not particularly proud of that you’d like to overcome? Include those behaviors on the starting side of the bridge as well.
2. What are your personal goals? Write these goals on the “ending” (right) side of the bridge. These goals should include personal, character, career, and academic goals.
3. What are the problems and other obstacles that are underlying your current behaviors and decisions and/or that are getting in the way of you achieving your goals? Write these problems and obstacles down under the bridge.
4. What strategies can you employ to address or solve the problems and obstacles so that you can achieve your goals? Write down these strategies for overcoming problems and obstacles on the blocks that make up the bridge. Be specific and relate these to your responses from question 3.
5. Finally, think of three strategies you can incorporate in your life right now to help you cross the bridge and reach your personal goals. What are these strategies? What problems do they address? What do you need to do in order to implement these strategies? How will these strategies help you cross the bridge? Write your answers to these questions above the bridge.
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