Passion: Ministry, Learning, and Leadership
From a broad perspective, almost every teenager encounters the same daily struggles. We don’t sleep enough, have too much homework, are busy with extracurricular activities and sports, have relationship issues with friends and significant others, and we have parents who are always in our faces about all of the above. However, every teenager is infinitely unique when one sees their life story and future aspirations. Being unique has been especially difficult for me. I have an identical twin brother, and until my junior year, we were the exact same people. Recently, I’ve watched us distinguish ourselves into two clearly different people who are only noticeably similar by our looks. Everyone has an
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So much of my childhood was focused on baseball that I really didn’t do or think about anything else. My days consisted of playing baseball, watching baseball, playing baseball video games, and so on. I do believe that sports are a great way to evade trouble and to establish a group of friends, but baseball prevented me from truly living until I quit in October of my junior year. The only other activity that I focused on at all was academia. More specifically, I have always loved math and science, and I have been gifted with the ability to understand them more quickly than most. My natural disposition has always been to try and figure out how the world works, which has led to a passion for learning about math and science. The results of my appreciation for learning and knack for math and science have been a 4.33 weighted GPA and a 34 ACT score. After taking meteorology, I learned that I also enjoy analyzing. Hence, I plan to continue to study both math and science, but I want to major in Mathematics with an emphasis in Actuarial Science because this career requires heavy analysis. I will take classes in the Honors College to further push myself and expand my academic horizon. Furthermore, I hope to do undergraduate research so that I can gain hands-on experience in a math or science related field and establish personal …show more content…
Ever since I began to follow Christ at the age of 16, I feel that I have grown significantly as a person. I have developed a God-given love for people, and I give effort to treat everyone with love and not simply favor those who have a better socioeconomic status. Another strength that God has helped me to develop is the love to help others. This school year, I have made a firm effort to always put others’ academic needs before mine; simply put, I try and help others with work before I do my own. My volunteering experience in my church along with leading Willard’s Fellowship of Christian Students (FCS) has helped me to be comfortable meeting and working with different types of people. Leading Bible studies along with taking the course of Public Speaking has helped me to become comfortable and organized when giving speeches. Flipping back to the secular side, another strength is strong study habits that I have developed by trial and error by myself and from watching my peers. I have also become proficient with Microsoft Office from taking two computer classes my senior year. While I have listed many personal strengths, I understand and embrace that I am no better than anyone else and that I still have much learning and personal development to do. However, from a university’s
Lastly, we look at identity without knowing it adolescents are searching for the answers to the question, “who am I?”. Although this is an important part of development for this stage it didn’t just being in this stage nor do adolescents have the capability to figure it all out. While growing up children are pushed one way or another by parents and peers some are pushed towards academics while others athletics. But how influential are parents and peers?
When I began high school, I decided to focus on my academics and athletics because I felt those were the most important to my future. I chose my classes carefully so that I would not only be challenged with rigorous classes, but also learn the value of working hard individually and as a team. As I’ve matured over the last few years I realized that I’m able to participate in a wider range of activities and still excel in my academics and athletics. I intend to continue to balance activities such as these while attending
“I just want to be someone, mean something to anyone, I want to be the real ME”, by Charlotte Eriksson. The quest of my journey is to discover my real purpose, my real goal but most importantly, find my real identity. This is known as the “Identity versus Role Confusion Stage” or as described by psychoanalyst Erik H. Erikson, the fifth stage of the Eight Stages of Man. It occurs between the ages of 12 to 18, where every person battles to establish a certain roll or skill that provides one with a sense of a sturdy foundation in the adult society. I too am currently going through this stage of life, dodging many obstacles in order to seek out my identity. The hardest obstacle- my attempt to fit in with my peers, but the extremes I took to find it, may have scared me for life. Nonetheless, it showed me a piece of my real identity and helped me figure out how to grow through it and better myself; it showed me the real me. In the past as well as today’s society, individuality is vital. Each teen wants to create a unique identity for ones’ self, and the start to creating that identity is in high school.
Adolescence is a time of great change for a child. It is a time where they begin to explore who they are as individuals and develop their own identities as they get closer into adulthood. Erik Erikson theorized that in adolescence “the main task is developing an identity” and that a healthy identity is developed when they try on alternate identities and reflect on these experiences (Pressley & McCormick, 2007,p.147). Michael Nakkula says “identity is not the culmination of a key event or series of events, although key events can play an important role in the larger process. It is rather, the lived experience of an ongoing process-the process of integrating successes, failures, routines, habits, rituals, novelties, thrills, threats, violations, gratifications, and frustrations into a coherent and evolving interpretation of who we are. Identity is the embodiment of self-understanding” (Nakkula, 2008, p.11). The experiences that adolescents go through daily and over time influences the identity they eventually form. Adolescence is a time when children start to reflect on what they are good at, their relationships with family and friends, questions about sexual orientation and even religion. There are six domains that affect an adolescent’s development which are personal, social, familial, moral, and intellectual. I will be focusing on the social, intellectual and physical domains.
The Rockettes continue to shine as an American treasure; their glamorous performance style and complex routines have charmed audiences for generations. As the stars of a legendary holiday production, these immensely talented and hard-working women showcase their
The three passions that have dictated the direction of my life have been sports, friends and family. My first passion, sports, has guided me through temptations such as drugs and dropping out of school and has kept me on the right track. My second passion, much the same as my first has helped to deflect the many temptations of life. It is my friends who have stuck with me through the ups and downs and it is to them that I owe much of what I am today. My third and strongest passion is my family, and more specifically my father. He brought me up as a single father when my mother wanted nothing to do with me; he fought to give me what he could and it is to him that I owe everything.
Biological influences combined with societal and social expectations contribute to how well people learn to adapt to their environments (2013). According to Erikson, there are eight stages of development. Within these states, there are different psychological, emotional and cognitive tasks. In order to adjust, individuals must learn to develop these tasks. During adolescence, Erikson states that each person needs to navigate through the development task of ‘‘Identity vs. Identity confusion ’’ (2013). He defined this task by stating that adolescent children must learn to develop a sense of self and establish independence. Prior to this stage of development, a person’s parents largely influence their identity. In this stage the adolescent children begin to explore and develop their identity outside of their parents’ influence (Hill, Bromell, Tyson, & Flint, 2007). Adolescents are generally more egocentric at this stage and have an increased sense of self-consciousness. They also have a strong desire to conform to peer influence and develop concerns regarding their appearance. They develop concern about their level of competence in relation to their peer group as well. As peer influence increases, during this stage, parental influence decreases (Ashford & LeCroy, 2013; Hill et. al, 2007). Conflict generally increases between parent and child at this stage of development (2007).
Adolescence is a time when everything we've ever known is being changed. Relationships, friends, thoughts, and other things that shape who we are become more awkward and confusing and are changed from what they have been in the past. Consequently, we will change also because all these things shape who we are. During a period of such change, it's hard to know who we really are. Adolescence is the time when we find out who we truly are, but not until we know who we aren't. Adolescents use common words, actions, and rivalries to try to define their unique personalities, goals, and ideas. They label themselves in different ways, trying to find a single word that defines them entirely. Through this ongoing change of identity, adolescents fully realize who they are by trying on different identities until they find the one that fits them the best.
According to Erikson’s psychosocial development theory, a major task occurs during adolescence is the resolution of identity crisis. At this stage, adolescents exhibit greater social consciousness and actively seek for a sense of identity. However, the process of identity exploration can be difficult for most teenagers. Some may experience peer pressure and conflicts with friends, while others may suffer from social exclusion (Hoffnung et al., 2016, p. 393). Additionally, teenagers are more inclined to test the social boundaries and often end up in risk-taking behaviours such as smoking, alcohol drinking and sexual activities. The engagement of risk-taking behaviours not only leads to immediate health consequences but could also possibly persist into adulthood (Sales & Irwin Jr,
“Class,” I announced, “today I will teach you a simpler method to find the greatest common factor and the least common multiple of a set of numbers.” In fifth grade, my teacher asked if anyone had any other methods to find the greatest common factor of two numbers. I volunteered, and soon the entire class, and teacher, was using my method to solve problems. Teaching my class as a fifth grader inspired me to teach others how important math and science is. These days, I enjoy helping my friends with their math homework, knowing that I am helping them understand the concept and improve their grades.
I have always loved science and math. Although I thoroughly enjoy biology, it is not my strongest subject. To conjure a greater understanding of biology I set some short term goals. I want to enroll in more science based classes in order to hone my skills . Because I wish to have a job that is a hybrid of engineering and medical principles, it is extremely salient that I enjoy a major in biomedical engineering and perhaps a minor in nano engineering. Another of my short term goals that is related to my early statement, is to take a five year route in my collegiate career. The reason is so that i may enter the employment field with a masters in biomedical engineering, thus putting me a step further than many other applicants. After settling down with my engineering occupation I will be able to work on my career and long term goals. I have a laundry list of career goals but I will only explore the ones with the most priority. My first two years of highschool I was
Transition and change are some of the most difficult obstacles for people to overcome. It is no surprise that adolescence, defined as the transition from childhood to adulthood, is full of obstacles (Feldman, 2012). During this time period, adolescents are neither adults nor children; they do not appear to belong in any stable group. However uncomfortable this may seem, it is also a fitting definition. For during the adolescent stage, adolescents face puberty, sexual curiosity, self-esteem issues, and doubts about their future (Feldman, 2012). Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson aptly argued that adolescents pass through the identity-versus-identity-confusion stage in which teenagers search for defining and unique characteristics about themselves (Feldman, 2012). When a teenager struggles with this stage, a crisis emerges in which they are unable to find an appropriate role in life, often acting out or pursuing dangerous behaviors (Feldman, 2012).
Adolescence is a period of transition between the ages of 13 – 19, after childhood but before adulthood. Adolescence can be a difficult period in a teenager's life. Many teenagers do not know how to react or how to adapt to all of the physical, social, and psychological changes that occur during this period. Some adolescents pass through this period without problem, while for others, it is a period of torture, discomfort, and anxiety. With all the biological and social pressures that occur during adolescence, many teens fail to assume their identity. Sometimes family and society does not help to make this task easier. Challenges teenagers face due to biology and society are body image, hormonal changes, social and parental pressures, family problems, school pressures, alcohol, drug abuse, homosexuality, and suicide.
Adolescence is a time of challenge and change for both teens and parents. Teens are at a stage in life where they face a multitude of pressing decisions -- including those about friends, careers, sex, smoking, drinking, drugs and parental values. At the same time, they are confronted with profound physical, social and emotional changes.
Indeed, adolescent may be defined as the period within the life span when most of a person’s biological, cognitive, psychological and social characteristics are changing from what is typically considered child-like to what is considered adult-like (Learner and Spainer, 1980). This period is a dramatic challenge for any adolescent, which requires adjustment to change one’s own self, in the family, and in the peer group. Contemporary society presents adolescents with institutional changes as well. Among young adolescents, school setting is changed; involving a transition from elementary school to either junior high school or middle school; and late adolescence is accompanied by transition from high school to the worlds of work, University or childrearing. An adolescent experiences it all ranging from excitement and of anxiety, happiness and troubles, discovery and bewilderment, and breaks with the past and yet links with the future (Eya,