My name is Dilyn Martin and I am from Kotzebue, Alaska. I am Inupiaq and Siberian Yupik. My Inupiaq name is Siku, which means ice. My Siberian Yupik name is Akekusaq, meaning a promise given.
In Inupiaq culture, we have Inupiaq values that our people follow. One of the values is Love and Respect. This means you love and respect anyone and everyone that comes into your path or into your life. I will stick to this no matter what career I go into. I follow all of the Inupiaq values in life.
The question of “Who am I becoming” is difficult to answer. You can have all these goals, wants, wishes, career goals, or plans in life but things are always changing. I live life day by day and focus truly on who I will be the next day. I won’t know who I will be next month, in 6 months, or even next year. Yes, I do have goals and plans for next month and next year but those can change. Do I want to see these goals completed? Yes. I will do my best in completing these goals. Most important thing is to live my life to the fullest I can while accomplishing my goals.
Since I am close to the age where you think of what career you want or what you want to do in life, I have thought about a million different things on what I want to be. One thing that has sought my interest the most is helping people. I have thought about multiple careers that include helping people. One of those is social work. Social work is the most needed thing in Alaska. I thought of many different careers in social work but mostly a child therapist/psychologists. I know if I go into the social work field, I will make a difference in Alaska.
There are multiple things that made me so interested in social work. One main thing is seeing children of all ages go through trauma and then growing up dealing with addiction or growing up and not living the life they want to live. Another thing is me living with a physical disability. I have a condition called F.O.P, Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva. I am basically forming a second skeleton, simpler words my muscles are turning into bone if i injure myself. You can find more info at ifopa.org. This condition is not easy to live with. I would love if I can be the one to help others live life with their disabilities, like being a child therapist.
My major currently is Business Administration, but I might change it in the next year. There is a chance I will change it to something in the social work field. I definitely want to be in a field where I can make a difference and help people in the future. Although, there will be a lot of different reasons on why I change my major.
Danelle Shellikoff
Hi Dilyn, I am also Alaska Native, Unangan and Athabascan. I definitely hear your desire to work with our youth, which is essential. After all, our Elders have always taught the younger generations, and now it’s our turn to help. And your lived experience is something other youth living with a disability can relate to. I have always found it easier to talk about something bothering me with another person who has gone through the same thing. Social Work was not my first major when I started college. Straight out of high school, I thought I wanted to do accounting, which was a horrible decision because I don’t even like math. I then switched to nursing before finally choosing Social Work. This degree has many possibilities, and I hope to help my fellow community members in need after graduating.
Dilyn Martin
Hi Danelle, I agree with how our Elders taught us and now it is our turn to help in whatever way we can. Especially with working with our youth, either it be education wise or social work wise. Talking with someone about something that bothers me definitely helps me too. I do think I want to change my major, but I don’t know what I want to change it to. Thank you for your comment on changing your major, it really provided me with insight if I do change my major.
Daisy Wesley
Hi Dilyn,
you are right, “who am I becoming” is difficult to answer.
Katherine LeBlanc
Hi Dilyn. Thank you for sharing about yourself and goals in life. I also try to hold love and respect as my highest values in everything I do. Unfortunately I was not raised in a culture or way that taught me to respect and love no matter what. It was something I had to learn to do myself and is something that still takes effort every day. I believe that your comfort with flexibility within life, your goals, and what you want is very admirable and will be very useful.
Dilyn Martin
Hi Katherine, I like how you commented that you taught yourself love and respect. I think I also taught myself, in addition to using the Inupiaq Values. Love and Respect is not something you have as a person, it is definitely taught.