When Did You Start To Think Differently From Mainstream Society?

It was not until tenth grade when I realized that I don’t need to fit the stereotypes or expectations that others may imply on me. This decision to take a stand and become my own person first started with how I dressed. Having my own style, whether it was wearing what I wanted or following new trends that not everyone liked, I felt like I was becoming my own person. Along with my development of my style I also started to voice my opinions about topics that mattered to me. My views on the world have earned me the title of an extreme liberal among my

I can truly say I would not change any choices or experiences that I have had in my life. I take every experience as a learning experiences and I do believe each and every one has made me the person I am today. When I got my divorce although the single life started out rocky I did find my independence again. I took the time to find out all things I wanted out of life and how I was not settling for anything less. They choices I made during this time made me value family a whole lot more. It brought me closer to my Children and made me appreciate them more also. My life experiences have taught me who I want to become and how I plan on getting there. Going back to college at the age of 39 as scary as it was has been on of the greatest experiences that I have done. I know that I am one step closer in becoming a sexual assault support counselor and making a positive difference in

I picture myself living a pretty good life back in the day. I know it would have been a lot harder and I would have been working very hard for everything to my name. I would have loved to of lived on a farm then. I live on one now and I love it. There are a lot more acts that I would have been for than against during that time. The one I chose about helping women out during that time though is still the one that sticks out the most to me. I would have wanted twice the money coming in between my wife and

for a whole year grew in ways that i wouldn't imagine mostly mentally seeing the world different, and how people really are. I read a lot of books that i could relate to made sure i kept

Later, I came along and my dad working at a manufacture in Darlington. My parents’ struggles gave me the courage and strength I have to move forward to strive in life to have no limits. Because in my time it was the Haves and Haves Not I was considered the Haves. My life became an icon as people assumed by my characteristic of dreaming big that I was big as it relates to riches. I never thought dressing appropriately or keeping up with modern fashion would speak for my status as being rich. It was then I realize that the amount of money people assumed I had determined who they thought I was. My mother often told me to never let money determine who I was. I wondered how society was able to label personal values, such as rich and career achievements one holds to being

If I had gone to school, marry, and raise kids, follow the American Dream just like everyone else in the nation. It was at that point I realized that I had to continue my life the way I had always dreamed it would be like, the way that made my family proud and me happy.

I was very blessed to have grown up in a tight-knit community. My parents were religious and the Baptist faith played a strong role in my upbringing. My parents were often much stricter than my friend's parents. However, because they were fair and loving in their discipline, I did not feel as if my childhood suffered because of this fact. I had many friends growing up, both within and outside of the church. My youth group was an important part of my life, where I often volunteered, but I also had friends at my school. These experiences instilled within me the importance of having a sense of personal values, and being able to stand by your beliefs, even when others disagree with you. I tried to set a good example for younger members of my church and relatives.

People would have died at a very young age, perhaps before their 40th- 50th. This would be due to the lack of resources and their understandings of medicine, technology and science.

Throughout the time period I chose, I was able to learn things like what I wanted to do in the future and how to make my goals become reality. I also learned about things I support and don’t support, such as habitat preservation (I support), and animal cruelty (I don’t support). There were also some revelations that were found through some challenging events. I found out that although I feel weak, with the support I felt from my family and friends, I was stronger than I thought and was able to bounce back. Doing this assignment and looking back on this time period I realize how lucky I am to have a wonderful family, and great friends. Because of them I did not have to face many hardships, and those I did face were not alone.

This feeling of being unwanted along with the feeling of insecurity, caused by the financial struggles my family, as the first generation, had while trying to start a life in a completely different country, pressured my true personality. I began to talk less, thinking that it would help take some burden off my parent's shoulders. These feelings completely endowed my childhood. It was to a point that I had already forgotten how to socialize with people and became extremely introverted that I started to acknowledge what I was enduring.

today as we know it would most likely be no different, they had no option of deciding what to do

would be different? Would anything be truly different? Would it be better or worse? Can you

In 2013 I went to Costa Rica, and Everything I thought I cared about changed. Up until that point I didn’t believe that I was a person who could make a difference in how people live their lives. And I also didn't think of big questions. During that trip I had a lot of fun and I came across major religious questions that changed my ethics, and after I gained three major characteristics, creativity, love, and wonder; all of these things are what triggered a major paradigm shift in my life.

I was never told to do the right thing or how to act to a certain amount of expectations. Majority of my lectures would go through one ear and flow out the other, and since a young little flower, I was always the perfect little child that always did her homework and shared her toys with her friends in which were all made up in her head. Growing up upon the areas I saw the most important lessons that could be taught, I went through the changes and struggles my parents warned me about. I learned a lot about myself and all the things I was capable of doing and things I was capable of hiding. I grew up forced to leave my shell and was thrown into the harsh world called home.

I have become very independent and have taken on my own views, beliefs, and attitudes. Different exposures and experiences that I have come in contact with have shaped these systems. It could have been through college, living new places, working environments, being around a broader diversity of people, or even the people I have been in contact with throughout my years away from home. I am a very open person and take in ideas and views from anyone, and I have formed that way because of the experiences that I have taken myself through.