Becoming Who You Are

In Parker Palmer’s excerpts from Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation, he writes about how we need to learn to be ourselves. Many people today, especially teenagers, struggle with this concept. Teenagers, in particular, are often overwhelmed and are thinking about everything that they have to do. They are under so much pressure and feel like they need to “fit in.” They often ask themselves, “Who should I be?” rather than, “Who am I?”

I agree with Palmer when he says, “From the beginning, our lives lay down clues to selfhood
 and vocation, though the clues may be hard to decode.” We all have a purpose on this earth, and we are all called to do something. Figuring out what that something is is very difficult. When we are feeling lost, we can think back to our past and remember what we enjoy about ourselves. While on this long journey to figuring out who we really are, we grow closer to God and begin to “decode” our lives. 

Mission Statement

I am not exactly sure what I want to do with my life, but I am sure that by creating this mission statement, I will have a greater idea of what I like and how I want to spend my time. I am reliable, a good listener, responsible, and athletic. I hope that these traits will stay with me throughout my life, and hopefully “rub off” on people around me. I want to pray more often. Stand up for myself. Go outside my comfort zone. Be there for others. Make people happy. Make a difference in the world. Use my time wisely. I am really passionate about my family, friends, cooking, field hockey, helping others, and making others happy. I want to always be passionate about these things. In the future, I really want to be happy. I also want to keep in touch with my friends, meet new people, stay close with my family, and find a job that I love. 

Sources of My Identity

My Grandma has definitely shaped me to be the person I am today. She has taught me so much about my life and those around me. I have developed such a good relationship with her, and I love spending time with her. I love going to her house and cooking with her. We often go to church on Sundays, and then go out to breakfast. It is a good break from the week. She has taught me about my faith, trusting others, and believing in myself. My grandma is always there for me and I know that I can count on her for anything. Through my relationship with her, the most important thing I have learned is that I should always be myself.

I began playing field hockey in second grade. I have been playing for the past eleven years, nonstop. When I am on the field hockey field, I feel like a whole new person. I do not have to worry about all the little things going on around me; I just focus on the game. Playing field hockey has definitely affected my life in a positive way. I have learned so much about the game, but I have learned so many more valuable lessons from the sport. I have learned to work well with others, that I need to be prepared for anything, and how to manage my time.  Field hockey is not an individual sport. You work with others; you rely on your teammates, and your teammates rely on you. Playing field hockey has taught me that I need to be prepared for anything. I have to be able to adapt to different situations and be willing to change plans. Finally, and most importantly, field hockey has taught me to manage my time. Playing a sport everyday after school, then going to club practice takes up a lot of time. I still have to do all my homework, eat, and wake up and do it all over again. I have learned that if I stay focused and plan out my day, I will get everything done because I know that I don’t have five minutes to waste. Playing field hockey has taught me so much about myself, and I’m sure I will learn so much more in my next four years while playing in college.

Going to the Florida this past summer with my family was so much fun and it has affected me greatly. My whole mom’s side of the family got together for my grandfather’s 90^th birthday.  It was the first time in five years that that whole side of my family has been together, so it was so nice to see everyone. One family lives in Connecticut, two live in Colorado, my grandparents live in Florida, and my family lives in Pennsylvania. All of my younger cousins have grown so much and it was really good to hear how they were doing. I think that this trip taught me that I have to treasure every moment that I have with my family, because seeing everyone together made me so happy. I also learned that even though it may be hard for everyone to come together, we should all have time for one another, and try to see each other more often. I have no idea when we all plan to see each other again, hopefully it will be sooner than five years, because I learned a lot from this trip.