Personal Narrative: Working On The Identity Wheel

Growing up in America with Taiwanese-American parents has shaped my life and my personality. In Georgia there are little to no areas with Taiwanese influences and culture. Therefore when we were younger, my sister and I went to school together in an area where there weren’t many Asian families residing.

Overall, my first semester has been going pretty well. The semester is going like a roller coaster up, down, and fast. I have some bad days and some good days. Through this semester, I have many challenges I faced which I honestly did not want to face. Even though I just wanted to dodge or run away from the challenges, I still face them and fought through them. Some challenges I face this semester, hopefully not in the next, are procrastination, time management, and laziness. I have not only gone through challenges; I have also gone through successes. I am proud of turning assignments on time, passing tests and quizzes, completing my SCR points, and being involved in clubs. Being in Biomed has helped me grow as a student in the area of knowledge.

What do you want me to say? (Throws hands up in the air) That I am so excited to be moving to another foster home? That my parents didn’t want me to begin with in the first place? How can “parents” do that to someone? To be excited to be treated the same as I have been in every other home before? No. These people are going to be just like every other set of parents that I’ve always had, not excepting and judgmental. They will be excited at first to meet me, get to know me, and then a few years down the road, they will say that they can’t connect with me, and can’t do this anymore. If you’re wondering if I care, I don’t and I am not excited. (She turns her body to look at Mike) But you know what? All of this won’t even matter in a couple years, I’m going to be eighteen in a few days, I am not a baby

My is name Kyra Alexandra Avila Kepfer. Kyra is my mom’s name and Alexandra comes from my dad’s middle name “Alexander”. My Dad’s last name, Avila, is from Spain and Guatemala. My mom 's last name, Kepfer, is German. My mom was originally going to call me Katherine Andrea. My names meaning is light, throne, and sun. Since my mom’s name is also Kyra my family calls me Kyrita which is my name in spanish. At times my mom will call me “Alex” which is short for Alexandra. My mom has always called me that and my family has called me Kyrita for as long as I can remember. Many strangers pronounce my name Kira which kinda gets annoying after a while but it 's understandable. To my family my name means a fun, lovable, and active 15 year old girl who loves to spend time with family and friends. I like my name because its original and not common. The fact that my name means the sun is interesting because it 's so unique and bright, which is how I want my future to be. If i had the chance to change my name i wouldn 't because i 'm used to it and i feel like it defines me as a person. I’m grateful that my mom named me Kyra and i 'll always embrace it.

Investigating your identity, “who you are” is all a journey we go through as we grow up, especially when going through puberty. Which is similar to when Aboriginals participate in a vision quest as they try to figure out who they are and what life has for them in the future. Growing up you don’t understand the concept of “who you are” until you start going into puberty because you pay more attention to everything around you. As you grow up, your parents start to tell you stories about your heritage, learning about all our traditions. Having my parents come to Canada from Iraq, taught me how to speak another language and the traditions they participated in, generation after generation, showing me what makes my family Iraqi. You start to pay

Almost literally, I think I need to call Mike Tyson and put a trifecta there.

When I immigrated to the US, I struggled with my identity, unsure of my place in my new home. This feeling was further intensified with sense of loneliness I experienced when I began community college. For a while, I tried my hardest to fit in but my accent and dress were an indication that I was not from here. In order to avoid the awkward bigoted questions and remarks that would make me feel that I did not belong here, I spoke less and shortened my interactions with others.

Strolling into my last hour of the day like any other, only to find that there was a substitute, another day of busy work instead of reviewing for the test. I sat in my assigned seat in the back of the class as usual, while the sub introduced himself.

Being the sibling of a rising, hot Hollywood starlet is not the glamorous role that it seems. Well, alright, the parties and freebies and constant spotlight on your family does have its perks. Not to mention all the access to every hedonistic desire you could want, practically whenever you want it. But there is a downside to it as well: the stepping out of the shot for photo calls, the 3rd tier seating at awards shows, the neglect by your parents…but I digress.

At the age of 14, I moved from Atlanta to Las Vegas, then to Los Angeles. Atlanta was the place I grew up in, the place where I developed my personal identity, the place where I established lasting relationships, and the place I never wanted to leave. During my move, I lost every aspect that defined who I was as I my new peers shunned and isolated me due to by my “distinct lifestyle and characteristics In comparison to my brothers, I was never given the opportunity to receive the “typical” high school experience that is often seen on movies, as I was often alienated in my new setting. I attended two different high schools in two different states, allowing me never to fully establish long-lasting relationships that my mother and my brothers attained during their high school

Have you ever been so desperate for something that you redevelop your motive in its entirety? Throughout my life I’ve found myself placed in this frightening situation multiple times; the most confusing of which would be what I’ve endured this year. People in their 20s have it rough anyway. We’re old enough to feel like we’re supposed to know what we’re doing, yet young enough to be clueless and it still be acceptable; then there’s those of us who think we’ve got it all figured out only to be proven tremendously wrong. I have learned, however, that being tremendously wrong can lead you right where you need to be.

To describe a time that a leader I know “Challenged the Process”, I am going to look back at the example that I used for our last reflection. One-day last summer while working for the Boulder County trail crew, my crew, as well as one more, were tasked with moving a 1-ton bridge using grip-hoists (manually-operated winches), and it proved to be a much more daunting task than we had anticipated. After many failed attempts to move the bridge, frustration among crew members was at an all-time high. We were working near a high-use mountain bike trail, and many riders had been watching our progress, so the pressure to accomplish our goal was higher than usual.

Changes that I have made lately include leaving my past job that I was comfortable in, changing my sleep schedule around, and working to relax more. When I first started thinking of making a career change, I was scared I would not find another staff that I enjoyed working with and a manager as sweet as mine. I was scared of change for fear of the unknown. Another change I made lately was my sleep schedule. I was tired and cranky, and not getting enough sleep. I started making a sleep schedule and sticking to going to bed earlier and waking up at a certain time each day to regulate my sleep. This has helped improve my mood and increased my energy. Lastly, I am working on ways to relax and wind down after a long day.

My individual identity is formatted to show what I do and what makes me different because everyone has different opinions about their identity, but that just shows how we're all unique in some ways. I placed my specific sports and activities like baseball on because they make up who I am. The music albums I listen to that make me a part of a collective identity of other that share the same interests in music style as do I. Sports also tie into a major part of my collective identity because they play a tremendous part in my life that I can talk about and share my opinion with friends and family. To represent my national identity, the pictures I had shown are famous parks and museums that I had visited a to because these landmarks represent a

Today, my team of two, Kadeyn, Jasmine, went with me to the lowest area on this Earth, the land alongside the dead sea, and started to dig. We we dug 38 kilometers into the crust with a huge shovel contraption attached to our capsule., and as we went through, we saw huge pockets of the mineral Halite, which Jasmine kept licking for “the greater good of science”, and also saw lots of sedimentary rock which we took samples of.