What is easy for some is not easy for all, a familiar saying but one that may not be used very often. This saying applies directly to what it can be like finding one’s identity. When I started high school I thought I had myself all figured out, I could not have been more wrong. I’ve learned from experience that so many things shape who you are and how you’re going to turn out: specific situations, people, items, it’s honestly endless. With endless possibilities comes an endless exploration to find one’s self. I must say though, people have shaped me more than anything. As you begin to get close with people you really get to know them, when this happens you may find flaws. Above all the closer you get with someone the more their behavior can change. I feel that change in behavior is what made me think about people. Some good things and some bad. This exact behavioral change has made me feel different from many. I feel like sometimes people just don’t care enough, but being going to my high school in particular has made me see only a very small piece. I am looking to find more out of people, and by coming here to Utica I have met new people that have shown me there is more culture and kindness in the world. This will give me more hope for myself and more hope for the world, to find others that are more like me, things that have already begun to happen. Situations are almost equally as important, each and every day I face situations that change how I view others and myself. This could be as small as a problem with one of my friends to having a full on verbal argument with someone I may not like very much. That is just to name a few, there are also lots of good things that have changed me and shaped me. Receiving my black belt in karate was a moment I will never forget. It shaped me into a person that was more mature, disciplined and strong. This may seem like a strange way to look at identity, but if thought about deeply enough one could see that all of those aspects can be life changing.
There is a lot to be learned on this new journey, college is definitely been an adjustment but in many ways a positive one. I’m sure that all of us students can agree one of the best parts of living at school away from home, is the freedom. We aren’t told when we have to be home at night, or who we should be hanging around with. All those little things that are basically particular to each other’s households, but none the less I’m sure most of us are happy to be out and on our own. This move has been mostly good for me, sometimes I think about what it may have been like if I just stayed home and went to college. Then I realized something very important, that is that it took me being out on my own to figure out and get a little glimpse at what it’s going to be like to be out on my own for good. Yes, it has only been about a month, but I would like to think it will only get easier. Many people around my age think they know who they are. I have proof they are wrong. Morrie Schwartz from the memoir Tuesday’s with Morrie, by Mitch Albom, his illness caused him to find himself and share his wisdom with others. This memoir was authored by Mitch Albom, one of Morrie Schwartz’s students from college. After seeing his professor in an interview on the show Nightline the author is reminded of a promise he made sixteen years ago to keep in touch with him. Now stricken with a disease that will quickly deteriorate his entire body, Morrie does not have much time left, and Mitch recognizes this. Mitch travels to Massachusetts to see Morrie. This meeting goes so well that it makes Mitch and Morrie decide to meet for many consecutive Tuesdays. During each of these meetings they discuss a different topic about life. These topics each make up a chapter in the book and include death, love, culture, marriage, regret and the world we live in, among many others. This occurs all the way up until Morrie’s death. This is not a story, this all actually happened, a real man that really thought he had himself all figured out. Morrie didn’t have it figured out, not until his final days. I chose to incorporate this memoir for a few key reasons. I genuinely enjoyed the book, but that’s not just it, Morrie made a huge impact on the world and helping others find out who they really are and he did all of that from a hospital bed. I found it better to share how it’s been growing up and figuring everything out, sure everyone has particular sets of skills and talents but writing about something that I do every day and describing the methods to my madness seemed far more appropriate. All in all I believe now that I won’t just wake up one morning and figure myself out; is it going to take my entire journey through life to find it? I don’t know, but best part is, my journey is just beginning.