How I Learned to be the Person I am Today Essay

I was brought up to follow the “Golden Rule,” to treat others the way you would want to be treated. When my parents would socialize me around my family and other people, they taught me not judge people or to make fun of others because we are all different. Growing up my grandfather and his best friend were both left disable after their accident. My parents socialized me around him a lot, that’s all I ever knew. It taught me that we are all different, but should all be treated the same because he still could do everything we could. As an American child individualism and equality was drilled into my brain, it was just something that you did in your everyday life. It taught me that you do create your own density and you never let anything slow you down. These values are very important to me and my family as well.

You want to know what shaped/molded me as student. Wow, that's a funny qurstion! I believed I didn't know what made me who I am, but as I look back and forth, I realized, it was me. I am my own motivation. I don't look up to anyone, I just look forward to something. I am a believer, dreamer, achiever, and wonderer. As I look around me and see how my family and others of a different and same ethnicity living their whole life on a budget, barely making ends meet, I tell myself I will be better and become better. I will not let my surroundings select or change the way I am. When I was younger, I believed everything would just come and fall into my arms. I wanted to be all of the occupations I seen on TV. I planted in my head that I would be a

heard my parents say many times growing up that “ you are as good as your word” and the older i have gotten the more I see how true that saying is. If you are honest that shows others that you meet in your life that you can be trusted. Thomas Jefferson stated that "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” Meaning that is one of the first traits out of a personality perspective, to have.

“What are we going to do! What about my graduation?” Linz repeats frantically over and over, as the daunting reality slowly sat in.

Thanks to Comp, my therapist refused to keep seeing me (Just kidding... she stopped seeing me in 9th grade). While that statement is a logical fallacy because correlation does not imply causation, Comp has helped me improve as a writer and as a person. In the one hundred thirty-three days that I have been a Comp student, my writing has improved quite a bit since junior year. Not only have I learned to write faster and better, I have grown as a student, reader, writer, and thinker. Thanks to Comp, while I do not see my therapist anymore, Comp is essentially my therapy.

In my classes, I began new friendships. Many of these friendships consisted of peers from various backgrounds and races. I enjoyed learning about new experiences, cultures, and traditions from these newfound friends. Not all of my former friends, however, were as accepting of new cultures as I was. Differences seemed to intimidate other students and, as a result, past friends began to distance themselves from me. These grade-school friends became judgemental and even hurtful in many of their actions towards me. This was the first true encounter I had with racial issues and the lack of acceptance from friends. My “star-bellied” friends seemed to think something about them was better than

“Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.” (Jerry Seinfeld) Most people don’t know what life will bring or what road they will have to travel until that time comes. George never knew the only way he could save his best friend would be to kill him and Hamlet never knew he would die from being poisoned by my uncle and friend. All the trails and tribulations that you encounter are only to make you better person even if it’s bad. Personally I have been through a lot in 16 years. Some good and some bad but at the end it made me the young last that I am today. Your life experiences only prepare you for the real word. Three life experiences that made me who I am are Death of my uncle, my mom being ill and the switching of

I was very different and not everyone liked that about me. Feeling like an outsider made life at school difficult for me. Feeling like an outsider made me feel alone, but it also united me with other people who felt the same way that I did. It really bothered me that I wasn’t like any of the kids at my school and having people who felt the same way as me made things a lot better for me. My friends helped me realize that it doesn’t matter what other people think of me because I had people who loved me for who I am and that’s all that really matters.

“I’m not saying I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee I will spark the brain that will change the world’’ - Tupac Amaru Shakur. Accepting your peers for who they are is very uncommon in my school.This is because being in a school is very diverse but not more than the world or the country we live in.People have many things different about them like their personality, sexual orientation, body physique, skin tone, intelligence, talents, age, hair texture, hair length etc. There are alot of things you can be judged or hated for. Having the interest or motive to bring respect, equality and unity in someone’s heart or being able to change them is very powerful if it took one person to accomplish that. Now imagine doing that to an entire country the the world.

Many of us faced challenges in our formative years and we struggled with them. Some of those struggles might have changed who we are or how we later approached life. Marilyn Campbell is an overcomer. She wrestled with shyness in her young years. Before you read her essay, learn a little more about Marilyn’s background from an update she sent to me:

When I was eleven, I went to a summer camp where for the first time, I would be apart from my parents for a week. My local service group was affiliated with it, but I had never before met any of the people there. Going to summer camp was my first time spending a significant amount of time people who were different from me. In order to connect with others, I had to change some of my attitudes. That year and for the next five, I would meet girls that I would have never met ordinarily. At that camp was the first time that I became friends with people of diverse backgrounds who appeared different, spoke differently, acted differently, were richer, were poorer and none of it seemed to matter. All everyone wanted was to be friends with each other and if you were unfriendly or rude, why would anybody be kind to you?

I have heard that someone does not have to leave everything behind to figure out his or herself, but I am not sure that is completely true. Figuring yourself out is a lifelong process, but in your adolescent years, you start with nothing. And you can’t expect to figure everything out by staying in a place you have always known. I’m in college now, and I’m yearning to know who I am more than ever. What will I be out of college? Will I be okay? What will my career be? Why am I in college in the first place? These questions haunt me, and I don’t have answers for them. I’m learning the hard way to come to terms with being uncertain. What I do know is that I love learning, I want to learn all I can, and I want to be the best person I can possibly be.

To be totally honest with others, you first have to be totally honest with yourself. You have to be true to yourself. If you are always honest with yourself then you will never be dishonest with other people.

There’s a lot we can learn from the stories of our past – if we tell them in such way that enables us to hear what they really have to say. This holds true with me and my life. To put it simply, the life I’ve lived up to this point has been nothing short of a beautiful (and bumpy) roller coaster ride! As I have grown up there have been many factors that have influenced me to take on or do certain things. These things, plus some of my individual choices, have contributed into what’s made me who I am today. And with that, I’m happy to say for this moment in time, I’m satisfied with the person I am and the path I’m taking.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “To be yourself in a world that is trying to make you something else is a great accomplishment”. Who am I? is question that many often struggle to answer, but for me it allows me to differentiate from my constituents and express who I really am. What makes me such a unique individual is my ability to identify with 5 strong strengths. I love the fact that I am futuristic and I have the ability to relate, I am responsible, I am a developer and last but not least I am disciplined. Each one these themes shape and generate my personality. Born on February 22nd 2000 I am the only daughter to Rob and Theresa Jones. When I’m not roaming the illustrious campus of State University, I enjoy shopping I personally feel