“Who am I?” This is a question that everyone my age has likely asked themselves. The first thing that needs to be figured out is, what defines a person? Does family history decide who you are going to be? I believe it is the things you pick up from the people you are around, the things you go through, and the things you learn in your life that decide who you will become. First, I will discuss my family history. The only in depth history I have is my mother’s father’s family, the Wescovich line. The Wescovich’s have been in the New Orleans region since 1850 when Peter Wescovich (my great-great-great-great grandfather) came to America from Austria. My grandfather’s mother’s family came from Canada and founded Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Most
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Things you experience are one of the major factors in who you become. I am 27 years old and have moved 26 times in my life. This has made me extremely resilient to a variety of situations, especially change. I generally welcome chaos and get bored extremely easily with repetition because I am so used to things changing frequently. Most of the places I moved to were similar enough culture wise, but some of the places, like Chattanooga, TN, were very different from what I was used to. I went from multiracial or predominantly white areas of Illinois to a place that was predominantly black. The first time I lived there I was six years old and never learned about racism as it wasn’t really an issue at that age. When we moved back I was 13 and racism was much clearer, I had one black friend for a time, but he was eventually forbidden from being my friend when his parents found out that I was white. This was a major blow at the time as I had only one other good friend and he went to a different school. Incidents like this were luckily few and far between, but almost everything you deal with helps shape who you become. I also dealt with a fair amount of bullying; most children went to school together from kindergarten to whatever grade we were in at the time, so I, always being the new kid, was the outcast. I learned …show more content…
I can’t emphasize the “choose to keep” part enough, I am a firm believer in one choosing who they let impact their lives. Obviously, you can’t always choose, a boss for instance, but I don’t believe anyone should be required to pretend someone is important to them if they aren’t. For whatever reason, my mother made it a habit of “adopting” new family members often, so people who weren’t blood or marriage related became my family. I picked up that habit and “adopted” a couple of extra moms and siblings throughout my life. All of these people had some sort of impact on my life. My “aunt’ Penny and “uncle” Bud were closer aunt and uncle to me than anyone. My two “adopted” moms, Mici and Christina, didn’t affect me anywhere near as much as my mother, but they were there for me when I needed them and I did learn things from them. My “adopted” siblings Justin, Jacob, and Woody were as much (if not better) brothers as I imagine any blood brother could be. My other “adopted” brother, Shawn, is actually my step-cousin, but my mom and stepdad raised him so he was basically my brother as well. From Shawn and my biological sister, Sarah, I learned what not to do with my life. They are both good people (and good siblings), but they have a habit of staying in trouble. I have another biological sibling, but I have disowned her, she just isn’t worth the effort as far as I am
Things you experience are one of the major factors in who you become. I am 27 years old and have moved 26 times in my life. This has made me extremely resilient to a variety of situations, especially change. I generally welcome chaos and get bored extremely easily with repetition because I am so used to things changing frequently. Most of the places I moved to were similar enough culture wise, but some of the places, like Chattanooga, TN, were very different from what I was used to. I went from multiracial or predominantly white areas of Illinois to a place that was predominantly black. The first time I lived there I was six years old and never learned about racism as it wasn’t really an issue at that age. When we moved back I was 13 and racism was much clearer, I had one black friend for a time, but he was eventually forbidden from being my friend when his parents found out that I was white. This was a major blow at the time as I had only one other good friend and he went to a different school. Incidents like this were luckily few and far between, but almost everything you deal with helps shape who you become. I also dealt with a fair amount of bullying; most children went to school together from kindergarten to whatever grade we were in at the time, so I, always being the new kid, was the outcast. I learned …show more content…
I can’t emphasize the “choose to keep” part enough, I am a firm believer in one choosing who they let impact their lives. Obviously, you can’t always choose, a boss for instance, but I don’t believe anyone should be required to pretend someone is important to them if they aren’t. For whatever reason, my mother made it a habit of “adopting” new family members often, so people who weren’t blood or marriage related became my family. I picked up that habit and “adopted” a couple of extra moms and siblings throughout my life. All of these people had some sort of impact on my life. My “aunt’ Penny and “uncle” Bud were closer aunt and uncle to me than anyone. My two “adopted” moms, Mici and Christina, didn’t affect me anywhere near as much as my mother, but they were there for me when I needed them and I did learn things from them. My “adopted” siblings Justin, Jacob, and Woody were as much (if not better) brothers as I imagine any blood brother could be. My other “adopted” brother, Shawn, is actually my step-cousin, but my mom and stepdad raised him so he was basically my brother as well. From Shawn and my biological sister, Sarah, I learned what not to do with my life. They are both good people (and good siblings), but they have a habit of staying in trouble. I have another biological sibling, but I have disowned her, she just isn’t worth the effort as far as I am