Personal Narrative: My Understanding Of Myself

I’m not a big fan of the popular sentiment and Lady Gaga motto of being, “born this way.” While the intentions are inclusive and positive, it ultimately takes away all agency of the individual and the significance of their experiences in shaping their ever-developing personality. In reflecting on my own upbringing, I can see the people and situations that have led me to my current understanding of myself. As a quiet observer, I absorbed everything I am from the people around me who I considered important, and slowly came to critically observe both these people as well as myself in order to make sure that I could feel confident and satisfied with my own beliefs and identity. I lived the entirety of my first 18 years in Rockford, IL, a large …show more content…
It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I started to consider this privilege and the struggles of others, although this admission and following change in mind-set would be a defining change in who I was from that point forward. It became increasingly apparent to me that I wanted and needed to direct my work towards creating positive change rather than maintaining our current system. At first, I worked in science, ecology in specific, to produce new research and help direct government funding towards climate change studies. After graduating college and completing my work in the lab, I decided to try my hand at teaching, which I saw as a stronger force in the fight for social justice. I knew that I had the traits of what I considered a good teacher, and I knew that I was getting into it for stable reasons and with positive intentions.
I am eager to see how I change over the following years as I surround myself with new friends and environments, and while I don’t see many of my core beliefs necessarily changing, I do see them being reinforced by those surroundings. My underlying personality that I developed in my upbringing is likely to mostly stay constant, but the way that I apply myself may