Reflection Paper On The Person I Am Today

There are two big events that have truly shaped and contributed to the person I am today: the passing of my mother and my time as a nanny. You are never fully prepared to lose a parent and especially not at the age of 12. When my parents sat me down in 6th grade and told me that my mom had cancer, I did not occur to me that she would not live to be 50 years old. I was told she would go through radiation, surgery to remove the tumor, and chemotherapy so it would never come back. Being a young child, I thought it was an extremely straight forward process and there would be zero "bumps in the road". I could not have been more wrong in my thought process. After going through the "easy plan" I had in my head and 6 more months, my parents came back

I have found over time that I gained two things: wisdom and strength.When it happened, I could not see any positives in the situation. Years later, looking back, I see that I gained wisdom that life is not fair and sometimes you cannot change the outcome of things in life I am now able to speak to others and share my past to help them going through the same situations. I am comfortable reaching out to people I am not friends with and sharing in hopes of helping their loss'. I have also gained strength from my loss. I have found myself using this strength to help others when they may not have it. This strength has called me to reach out to others who are in similar situations and let them know that I understand the feeling of losing someone. This is uncomfortable sometimes to open up to people barely acquainted with. As unfortunate and sad as this loss was, I wouldn't be the same person I am now without my

I watched a girl named Olivia over her 3rd and 4th grade years. I was mainly there to watch her and take her to soccer practice while her mom was at work. Olivia and I had a really special bond that was created only after a few times together. It was so evident that people thought we were sisters and would ask what our age difference was. She carried herself as if she was years older and I found myself treating her like a friend rather than a girl I was nannying. It became much more than a job for me and I always make time to spend with her when I go home to this day. For two years, I saw Olivia four times a week for about three to four hours each day. I could only describe my time with her as being like a fill in mother but also hanging out with a friend. I did everything from make meals to clean up messes to chauffeur to soccer practice and attending games. I felt part of their family and would spend time with them even when their mother was home and I was not getting paid. I definitely gained a motherly sense from my time with her. My friends would joke about me being the "mother" of our friend group as I would have jackets, snacks, blankets, lotion, chap stick, and more all in my car just in case someone needed it. I was always ready for anything and have carried that with me even years later. I have slowly found that I picked up so much more from being a nanny: time management, sense of responsibility,