Becoming Who You Are

I found the article "Let Your Life Speak" by Parker Palmer to be very interesting and informative. I agree with many of his points and, for the most part, share the same views with him on the topic of vocation. I agree that a vocation is a gift, and that everyone was born for some particular purpose.Each individual is given certain gifts to help his/her succeed in the world, although it may take some time for everyone to recognize their gifts. I think that everyone can relate to Palmer's experiences in struggling to find out who you are.
Palmer also comments on the fact that even though everyone is meant to do something, one must understand what they are doing in order to be successful. People who are ignorant, arrogant, and those who try to "override one's nature" will most likely always fail. Overall, I really enjoyed Palmer's article about vocation and I hope that I will soon find my calling in life.

Mission Statement

To take something positive from every negative situation.
To make people laugh and brighten their days.
To trust my instincts.
To never loose sight of my goals.
To always have something to look forward to.
To never hold back.
To always remain young at heart.
To make a change in my community, and stand out from others.

Sources of My Identity

Throughout my life, three specific factors that have affected my identity are my family, travel, and ice hockey. Family has always been important in my life. Throughout the past eighteen years, we have established traditions and memories that I will never forget. My mom has always emphasized the importance of eating dinner as a family every night. Although sometimes it is difficult with all of our busy schedules, we all try our best to make this happen. One of my favorite traditions, in particular, is our annual vacation to Ocean City, NJ. Every summer we rent a house at the shore for a week and go to our favorite places. We eat multiple times at Mack and Manco (our favorite pizza place), go to A La Mode for ice cream, and of course, a competitive round of miniature golf is always necessary. In addition, my parents, brother, aunt, uncle, and cousin all eat dinner together every single Sunday night. My family has made me who I am today, they are always there for me through my ups and downs or when I just need someone to talk to. I hope that one day I will have a family of my own and be able to carry on some of our many traditions.

The second factor that has affected my identity is travel. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel so much. I have been to Toronto, Canada; Orlando, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; Outer Banks, North Carolina; San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, and many, many more places. While visiting all of these places, I have learned about history and different cultures. I mostly travel with my parents and brother, but sometimes with other members of my family or friends. One of my favorite travel experiences was in California. While in California, I visited my mom’s cousins and was able to tour Facebook headquarters. I have learned so much through travel, including realizing that I would like to travel to many more places.

The final factor that has made me who I am today is ice hockey. Though this may sound somewhat ridiculous, it is true. I grew up around hockey. My older brother played travel ice hockey for nine years, and my dad coached for a couple of years. As the little sister, I constantly went to games and practices. We traveled to Lake Placid, NY three times for tournaments. I can remember my dad walking me into the rink and handing me money for hot chocolate. It took a lot of time, but I learned the rules of the game inside and out. Five years ago, my brother stopped playing hockey, but I remained a fan. My dad and I always watch Flyers games together, and go to as many games as we can. While everything else in my life is changing, I know that my love of hockey will be everlasting.