Life Themes In My Life

All persons of this planet have a unique story. Some of these stories highlight the great triumphs of an individual’s life, while other stories may present a more somber reality. One person’s story might follow the themes of success, innovation, and happiness, while another may only speak of oppression and survival. However, most stories contain an assortment of events located between two extremes - a combination of both triumphs and tribulations. The ways in which a person experiences these aspects of life will lay the foundation for their own life story. Amidst the countless stories that depict human life, a few key themes often emerge that play a crucial role to develop an individual in who s/he will become. In my life prior to college,

I must first note the sheer magnitude of my family. Both my Mom and Dad come from households of nine children, meaning I have 16 immediate uncles and aunts. In addition, most of these relatives have a spouse, thus bringing my total count to 30 uncles and aunts. Finally, this considerable amount of aunt and uncles consequentially led to quite a few first cousins – 54 to be exact. If I were to take one-step further and include my second cousins, the number would quickly multiply into the hundreds – many of which still reside in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. In my adolescence, my parents often said, “Don’t date west of 185th,” thus protecting me from the likelihood of dating my cousin. Although this may seem humorous, it also alludes to the vast size of my family. Due to this large family, I had exposure to many lifestyles and cultures. On my Dad’s side of the family, I experienced a middle class, professional oriented family dynamic, while my Mother’s relatives primarily worked on their farms. This exposure to different cultures helped me to gain knowledge of the world from a young age. I rode in both airplanes and combines, heard both sides of the political debates, visited offices in the city and fed cows on a dairy farm. While the experiences with my extended family developed my broad knowledge of the world, daily living with my immediate family influenced many aspects of my