My name is Brendon Mowery, and I was born at a very young age. I was a really cute baby and to this day that is one of my best accomplishments.
I was/am being raised in a Christian home and my parents are both missionaries. My dad was a pilot, so we’ve lived in Africa, Papua New Guinea, and many of the lower 48 states.
The constant moving and having to make friends and start over was hard for me in my youth, but I knew it was for a good reason. I got saved when I was in Michigan and since then I have been trying to be a better Christian. We moved to Soldotna about 10 years ago, and we started our own mission’s organization about 5 years ago. Our ministry focuses on edifying, encouraging, uplifting, and counseling other missionaries and believers.
My faith is very important to me and who I am today and that was one of the reasons I wanted to take this class. The heart of missions is caring for and helping people and when my advisor suggested social work as a field I might be interested in, I was intrigued. I had never really known about social work before, and it wasn’t really something that was on my radar so to speak. I took the Strong Interest Inventory Test and Social Worker was one of careers that I could be interested in (hence the reason I’m taking this class).
One of the challenges that I am currently dealing with and will probably deal with for the rest of my life is the fact that I am a people pleaser. I will go to the extremes to make sure I don’t disappoint people or let them down but when I inevitably do, it crushes me (which leads down a not so fun road of depression a lot of times). Being raised a Christian we’re supposed to put others first and serve them which is why it is so important to me but also why it hurts so much when I let people down.
I would say that one of the things that I am most proud of is my school accomplishments. I graduated high school at 17 with my Associate’s Degree which I think is pretty cool. The issue is that I don’t really know what I want to do with my life. I have been undeclared for all of that time and haven’t had a specific career or anything that I want to pursue.
I have two younger brothers and an older brother and they are all important people in my life. Last year my older brother and I attended Cedarville University in Ohio. He decided to go back this year while I decided to stay home because I couldn’t afford it. Staying home has allowed me to grow a lot closer to my younger brothers but it also means that now I am the one responsible and the one they look up to. This will be the first time that my older brother and I have been apart for this long so dealing with that has been emotional as well.
My girlfriend has been an especially important part of my life. She has helped pull me out of those dark times and made me appreciate what I have. I think most importantly though she is proud of me and makes me proud of myself. I am extremely grateful that she continues to be a part of my life. Not to say that we’re perfect and don’t have our own issues.
I am very excited for this semester and I can’t wait to see what this semester holds for us all!
Rayanne Alick
Hi Brendon, I found your blog to be very relatable. I have also found myself to be a people pleaser, but thanks to the consistent help from my boyfriend, I am slowly learning to go out of my comfort zone and say no to certain things. But most importantly, I am learning to be okay with it myself. Not saying you should stop helping others, but I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup”. It is a hard and emotionally draining learning process, but it is 100% okay to say no to people if you need to
On another note – I also lived in Soldotna for a short while! I absolutely loved the environment!
Brendon Mowery
Hey Rayanne, thanks for your comment! My girlfriend has been a huge part of my life and personal growth. It is such a blessing to have people in your life who will encourage you and help you be a better person!