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Personal growth essay s
Personal growth essay s
Personal growth essay s
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The idea of self-discovery surrounds each and every one of us. It can be the understanding of our own abilities and feelings, or simply the acquisition of knowledge that can be applied for greater use. Self-discovery is crucial in determining the path we take in our lives and the choices we make that help us reach the end goal. As a society that is constantly changing and innovating, self-discovery aids in the process of learning and growing to better those around us and our own interests. Self-discovery enables us to pursue the new found interests and impacts the decisions we make in our lives. In the short story, “Saturday Climbing”, W.D. Valgardson outlines how discovering and learning about one’s true character and personality enables …show more content…
As the story progresses, we learn that self-discovery plays a major role in Barry’s decision making as he feels he is losing Moira to the powers of maturity and the independence a teen gains as they grow. He learns that to mend a broken relationship, he registers them for rock climbing. We are aware of this fact as it states “Taking up rock climbing had been an act of desperation”, and additionally “When he had noticed an advertisement for rock climbing, he remembered that she had spoken admiringly of classmates who had hiked the West Coast Trail. He had registered them and paid their fees.” This act of desperation reveals how the decision to take up rock climbing can really change the status of even the most fragmented relationships. This new found interest for Barry was an eye-opener in the sense that he underestimated the challenge climbing sixty feet up the cliff would be. During the climb in the story, Barry …show more content…
Everyone at one point has to make a decision on what they want to be when they grow up. For me, that decision came rather unexpectedly and was a result of a new found interest due to self-discovery. It all began when I was around the age of 8 and I watched a documentary on aircraft. It documented all about planes, how they work and the science behind them. I was immediately captivated and gaining all that information as a young child really hit the spot in terms of a new found passion and interest that I could see myself later using. This passion stuck with me ever since as I have spent tons of spare time studying different types of aircraft and collecting model planes. It ultimately helped me with my answer to the question of what I wanted to be when I grew up as being an aeronautical engineer. It is not a career most would pursue, but it shows how self-discovery impacted me at a very young age and the impact is so log lasting that it has influenced most of the decision I make now in terms of courses I take at school and the extracurricular activities I am a part of. Without self-discovery, I was able to gain an understanding of where my interests lay, the abilities I have to acquire complex information and the feelings I had towards my new found interest and
In Saturday Climbing, W.D. Valgardson uses the setting of the story to represent the relationship between Moira and Barry. Early in the story, Barry begins to struggle climbing the cliff. Valgardson describes Barry as suffering from vertigo and the cliff feeling like it's swaying as in an earthquake and just like his relationship with his daughter Moira, Barry is afraid of not knowing what to do and failing. Being right frightened him even more. If she said that’s right I’m smoking dope, six joints a day, and sniffing coke and participant in orgies,” he wouldn’t know what to do. Barry suffering from vertigo, the cliff swaying demonstrates Barry’s fear failing with climbing and with his relationship with his daughter Moira.
In W. D. Valgardson’s short story, “Saturday Climbing”, the author uses the cliff that Barry and Moira are climbing as a metaphor for the relationship between father and daughter. The real meaning of the story is encased in the description of the problems they face as they ascend the cliff. When Barry describes the chosen cliff, he tells us it is at first easy with many handholds but that later on it becomes smooth and difficult to climb. This can also be said about his current situation. During Moira’s childhood everything was simple and easy but now that she is a teenager, it is becoming harder to hold on to her and protect her. “Then, unexpectedly,
Each and every one of us learns throughout our daily lives. We learn from others and through our experiences. As we grow older and become more mature, we develop a deeper understanding of ourselves as we slowly move away from following others to constructing our own perspectives on the world around us. Self-discovery is what gives us a self-realization of what we value, care and love, and thus allowing us to affirm our values in society.
The journey towards finding one’s “self” is a long and arduous one, twisting and turning in every direction. The destination is a personal identity -- a definition of who one is, independent of anyone else. Some people find a straight path that leads them directly to the discovery of their “selves”. Other people take the road that has many switch-backs and obstacles to overcome, but eventually these people make it to the destination of “self” as well. There are still others who get lost along the way.
So I started thinking about what I wanted to do; I went from teaching to law enforcement, computer programming to astronautics and numerous other professions. Now I come to a crossroad in my life where I must choose what to do with my future, choose what will make me happy.
At nearly the crack of dawn on the cool September morning, we set out. Along with my weeks of training, the purposeful peacefulness of the hike is what really contributed to my energy levels and enthusiasm. Before I knew it, we were at the summit of Mount Washington. The months of training was all worth it. What felt like an eternity, took just about six hours. Completing the hike left me with a feeling of strength. I proved to myself that I could do anything, no matter how big the
I have always felt the pressure to know what I want to become. At age five they started asking us, “What do you want to be when you grow up?,” at that point in time I wanted to be a prin-cess. However, when I got older I realized I live in America and it does not work that way. I de-cided freshman year that I wanted to be a cosmetologist, but realized that is not very stable and does not come with much of a retirement. Therefore, once I reach my sophomore year of high school I had become interested in psychology. I have spent two years now looking into fields of psychology and now I have finally decided on something I believe will make me happy. Know-ing what you want to be as an adult is a topic everyone worries about from a young age, that
When I was in elementary we had an assignment or project to do for the drug free week Every year I was the same topic which was “what do you want to be when you grow up?” well since I was in kinder the obvious answers were from princess, cop, or a super hero. But my mom gave me ideas when I brought the project to her attention she said doctor, firefighter, nurse, teacher, fashion designer and lawyer. I was fascinated with how many careers there were to choose so my mom explained them to me and I was amazed they sounded so fun. I wanted to be a princess but now I see that it’s not a career choice. I picked the closest thing to a princess which was a fashion designer, I thought I could design my own princess dress. Every year after that I choose the same career I became more and more informed on this career choice.
Growing up, our first years of school are all fun and games. We take naps, color, and other fun activities, but as we get older reality hits us like a bus and realize that we must choose what we are going to do for the rest of our life. So, we think about our likes and interest and try to decide. It’s not an easy process by any means, it can be quite stressful. Picking a career is probably one of the most important decisions we will ever make in our life. It will determine many factors in our life as we get older. For me, I have always had an interest for math and machines. I thought what can I do for a living that involves those two things, and after carefully thinking of all possibilities, I came to a decision. I will pursue a career in mechanical engineering,
I did not always want to be a musician. Everybody always talks about choosing the job you love, but for me, those options are limited. I am the kind of person that does not attach to much; I do not get passionate, and the thought of doing some dull and uninteresting job until I reach my dying years horrifies me. For me, music is the only career worth grinding through the hardship to reach success, it was all that I could actually be passionate about and I realized this as a young teenager. Music was the one thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The big picture was that I would not be able to sit around and watch my life unfold. I knew I would have to work at music if I ever wanted to go anywhere, and I started immediately. I taught myself to play piano and practiced almost nonstop, but I knew this would not be enough either; I made the decision to drop all of
All throughout my life I would always hear the phrase “what do you want to be when you want to grow up?” and I would never give a straight answer, but it became more prevalent in my teenage years. As soon as I reached freshman year of high school I figured out the answer. I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I was a freshman I knew that I wanted to be a veterinarian.I was very fond of animals and I love to take care of them I loved being around them also. I've had many pets growing up and I knew that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.As a freshman I didn't know the steps to become a veterinarian, I didn't know what I needed to do I had no idea of what college I was going to go,but I knew that I needed to figure it out.
Some people find out what their professions is going to be at young age, some find out throughout high school, and others find out during their college life. I found out what I wanted when I was in college. The thing that made me realize that I wanted to major in accounting and finance came from me not succeeding in the first career choice I made the first time. Sometimes you have to fail to see what you did wrong and then once you find that out you fix it. Whether it is to study harder or to just give up is up to you. I didn’t necessarily give up I just knew that the first choice I made wasn’t for me.
It has taken a very long time for me to decide on the path that I wanted to take for my career. I have almost always known that I wanted to be an engineer. I was always more interested in applying my knowledge to solve problems rather than just research and understand the world. However, I had little to no inkling as to which field of engineering I wanted to go in to. I had always been a dabbler, involving myself in a large variety of activities with the interest of learning about how stuff works. I started out learning how to use the tools in the shed outback, making pinewood derby cars and model rockets. I would help my dad with home improvement and repair projects around the house. As time went on, my ability learns and apply
As a child I never once thought of having a dream career, until I reached high school. What lead me towards working in the computer field was because my dad was an electrician, and he showed me how to wired and solder circuit boards. I was really interested in that kind of work, so I thought to myself that I want to be some kind of engineer. Now knowing that I wanted to be an engineer, I assumed that electrical engineer was my future career until I started to work in the real world. At my first real job I worked with engineers of all kinds: IT, mechanical, and electrical engineers. Working with the different kinds of engineer and getting advice from them led me to have a career in IT or cybersecurity.
The need to continually improve ourselves is basic to all human beings. Self-development allows us to reach our true and fullest potential. Through self-development we become better able to understand ourselves, others, the world around us and to make positive changes in that world.