My Personal Perspective On The Person I Am

Putting all the pieces together, living in an environment where I need many goods, it shaped me as a better person. Also, my family toughs me that we need to support the less, fortunately,

My international background has shaped who I am today because of the influence of my Chinese immigrant parents. My parents never had an easy life. My parents, who lived in poverty in China, immigrated to the United States hoping for a better life and to pursue the American Dream. They immigrated to the Unites States with no money and no knowledge of the English language. The language barrier alone created a mass obstacle for their early life in America. My dad had once told me that at the age of 13 he was already cooking for his entire family while working to provide financial support for his parents and siblings.

My childhood was split over two different and unique cultures. This special upbringing presented me with challenges that lead me to continually reflect on my life and identity throughout my childhood. I had to adapt to different educational systems as my family moved back and forth between Syria and the United States. However, that only motivated me to work harder and seize the opportunities that surrounded me at every point of my life. I learned to treat obstacles and hardships as chances for growth and development.

My family’s background has influenced me greatly. It’s helped me learn to appreciate life and not take things for granted. The reason for this is because my parents were poor. Both had to drop out of school in the third and fourth grade to go work in the fields to help my grandparents and their families put bread on the table. They moved here to the United States from Mexico in their early 20’s completely empty handed with no skills in many fields to show for and no education. They knew they were at a disadvantage and it was going to be difficult to build from scratch in their new country, but they knew that here in the U.S. they had many more opportunities to make something out of themselves and not let my siblings and I go through the same

My surroundings growing up, and until this very moment, has made me the person that I am today. This is so important, because it shows who I am beyond a transcript or a resume. It shows that I am so much bigger than myself, and that I can achieve great things. My community, close family, and my peers at school each influenced me to become a bigger and better person who is ready to take on the outside world, capable of juggling things that come my way, and the drive to make the world a better place one goal at a

My career path has undoubtedly been influenced by the people who I have come across in my life. Those people have shaped and molded me in some fashion be the person that I am and who I strive to become. I have been and will continue to foster a compassionate ideology and lifestyle. My family coming from no more than the clothes on their back, leaving a worn torn country with no education have helped me better understand my role in life. I know and have come to a remedial understanding of how I am able to forge a better future for myself and family, I am and is undertaking a journey of transformation to become a counselor to serve others. I think that coming from a family with no education background, it was quite difficult to find someone to look up to for guidance future career options. Also, having come from a particularly large family consisting of seven other siblings, I thought that I was overshadowed. As the middle child I was left out usually, so in turn I became independent and select a path to help others that have similar struggles to like I did.

There have been many places I’ve gone and people I’ve met that have changed who I am and still continue to affect me today. My home in Virginia, family in North Carolina and Maryland, and even going to school every day has shaped me as a person and has helped me open my eyes and learn how the real world is. Although some people may not realize it, but they could be a completely different person than who they were a few months ago. People, including me, are changing over time and the things they do and the people the meet effect who they become whether they like it or not.

There have been many ups and downs in my life, but I have often maneuvered a way to get back on the rodeo. In the mix of it all, I’ve always to wanted to be something bigger than myself. That motivation thrust me to do I did all I could to get my GED; thereafter, my Bachelor while employed in two jobs to support my mother and siblings back home in Haiti. I remember vividly the first dialogue that I had with my father; He told me that I had to get to work to take care of my mother. I was just only a 17-year-old teenage kid. He reminded me of my principal duty was, and still is in my life, to make take care of my mother; therefore, I have done all I could for the betterment of my family and myself. Consequently, I was very focused. It is factual that I fell off the wagon a few times; however, I picked myself up every single time. I took my General Education Diploma test twice before I could get my diploma. Thereafter, I went to a vocational school to study video production. Two years later, I realized that a certificate was not good enough and I decided to go to college.

Learning is a universal aspect of everyday life; a fundamental development that changes through an individual’s life span. However, every individual learns in different ways throughout their life. I believed learning was standardized, and if someone was not learning at the same pace, they were not trying hard enough or they had some sort of learning disability. I have gone through my life thinking I just did not learn fast enough and/or perhaps I had a learning disability. With that in mind, it is something that impeded me from growing intellectually for many, many years, and is still omnipresent. As I read through my results from the Solomon-Felder Index of Learning Styles questionnaire, I reflected to my early school years and how useful this information would have been.

Everyone has their own unique beliefs and motives that push them through their lives. I have many different beliefs instilled in me that mold my day to day life. These beliefs have been formed either by learning from my parents, or by personal experiences. One major conviction of mine is the pursuit of happiness. There are many ways to strive for happiness, and all people are unique in the fact that no one shares the same goals. My happiness comes from a core of beliefs. Religion is an extremely important part of my life, and I can thank my mother and father for that. Another belief of mine is that hard work pays off; in many situations I have been shown that a good work ethic goes a long way in being successful. I also believe in being an optimist throughout life’s trials and tribulations. Many things can upset me in day to day experiences; however, I believe it to be crucial to obtain a joyous attitude. These beliefs have become priorities to me and carry me through my life, and help me to succeed.

My mom always says “Amigos son un peso en el bolsillo” In other words, friends are there one day and gone by the other, just like money. Moreover, the English equivalent is ‘fair weather friends’. I have to admit that I did not always agree with my mother. However, at the time I moved from Puerto Rico to Texas my perspective on friendships changed. There may be some people who believe that friends are forever, but, because of my past experience that has led me to believe that real friends do not exist.

I remember being a child and going to the grocery store with my mother. At some point, my mother would turn her back and I’d get distracted by something. 5 minutes later I’d turn around and she’d be gone. I remember the panic I felt while I would run around calling out to her and how all of a sudden I felt very alone in a very large place. My heart would race, I’d be on the verge of tears, and it felt as though she would never come back for me and I’d be alone forever. That’s exactly how I felt when my parents dropped me off at Flagler and for my entire first semester.

Ok so I needed a little help to focus my thoughts so I used google and found a blog that was very helpful. The writer Kat Lee said, "one of my greatest fears in life is that I will be the same person at 76 that I am at 36; that I will have the same hangups as an older woman that I had as a younger woman." I think that is my same fear. When I moved to Oklahoma I wanted to reinvent myself, I didn 't want to be the same girl with the same hangups both in life and spiritually. I thought new place fresh start.

As a working mother, after leaving the home, I keep on thinking about my baby. Sometime I scare if something wrong goes to him. It is very difficult to concentrate my mind. I wish I will play with him whole day, can spend my time taking care him all the possible ways that I can make him a fun. While returning back to home my concern again start the same way, playing with him and make him happy as much as I can. But when I reach home, I hug him, kiss him and stay with him for a while and forget his importance and start the house errands that I need to do. Without doing something, I will have empty stomach and the messy surroundings. Even in the busy schedule, I have been addicted to update my blog and Facebook post. Someone thinks I am really an outrage.

My life peaked when I was around seven years old. My two best friends were in my class, I read at a third-grade level, I spent my time investigating my backyard while watching my mother garden and climbing trees with my brother. I had it all. Come age eight I was hindered by prescription glasses, forced to wear pigtails because the Great Lice Outbreak of ‘08 and to top that nice pile off, none of my friends were in my class. I can only imagine what I seemed like to others. During that time period one thing stayed constant-- my curiosity for the things around me, exploring my garden. I would dig up different rocks and neatly arrange them in a line, always wondering where they came from. My curiosity heightened when I went to California and actually experienced an earthquake, a small one albeit, but an earthquake nonetheless. Now, things have gotten better since second grade, but I’ve never quite achieved the same level of satisfaction in my life as my seven-year old self. I have, however, been able to research and attempt to understand with the way the subterranean world works.