Who I Was Shaped Me Into Who I Am Now…

My Time In Florida

I was born and raised in Florida, and it really is a beautiful place, no matter how much I complain about the heat. I have so many memories here, and it has definitely been a massive part of who I was and who I currently am, but I think it might also be a part of who I will be, maybe not the whole part of who I will be, but maybe like the far future. My husband is stationed in Alaska, so I will eventually move there. Alaska will definitely be a part of who I will be, but I will also be traveling with him if he chooses to reenlist. We will most likely be traveling back to Florida in the far future, but for now, all I can say is that Florida is who I was and who I currently am.

My Future In Alaska

I recently visited Alaska over Thanksgiving to see my husband, and it was a great experience. I visited UAF and the museum on campus. I also got to see Fairbanks and some surrounding cities. It was definitely different from Florida, but I really liked it there. The people were so nice, and I really enjoyed seeing the snow. From Florida, as shown in the photos above, no snow. I have visited places like North Carolina and Tennessee, but I only saw ice on the ground every time I went, so I was excited to see real snow for the first time. With my husband and I being newly married and with him being stationed in Alaska, I will be moving there before the end of this year. That makes Alaska a place for who I will become.

Future Career

I will not be pursuing a career in social work; I will be pursuing a degree in justice to one day become a forensic analyst. Growing up, I watched many forensic shows, mostly because my mom always watched them, but I always found them interesting. Growing up, I was SO indecisive about what I wanted to do I had so many ideas, and for a while, I was contemplating. When I first applied to UAF, I wanted to do elementary education because I thought it could be a good choice. Then, after about a month, I changed it to justice, and recently, I thought about changing it but ultimately decided against it. I have always liked the idea of being in a field that could help people, whether that be a police officer, firefighter, paramedic, doctor, or lawyer; when I tell you I have thought of them all, I really mean it. Even though I did not necessarily think about social work, it is a field that can really help people in difficult situations. They provide much-needed resources to those who need them and information on programs they feel may be needed. They allow the client to feel comfortable when talking to them with the understanding that their conversation is private and so much more. Though social work is not my chosen field, it is an important job that is very needed. If I were to pick a specific field of social work, I do not know which one I would pick; as I said before, I am very indecisive, so I would definitely need to take a closer look into each one and then decide.

Who I was…

Growing up, it was really just me, my brother, and my mom. I am the oldest of me, and my brother by only 23 months. My father was not really a part of my life while we were growing up because he got into some bad habits, like drinking, etc. He is now a part of my life; he is now clean, and we talk, but for a while, he was not. With being the oldest I definitely felt the pressure of being the oldest child. Being the first to go to school, being the one with the most chores, being the one who needs to set a good example, etc. Also not to mention that I was also his personal taxi driver once I got my license. My mom and brother have always been there for me growing up, and I am incredibly grateful. They are significant parts of who I was, not as much of who I am now because they moved to Indiana, but they are my family, so they will always be a part of me. My mom was always my greatest supporter, coming to all my games and encouraging me in everything I did. Even though my brother could be annoying sometimes, he was always a friend; if I wanted to play video games with him, he always let me. If I wanted to play outside, he would always play too (We always played the games he liked, but it was always fun). They definitely made who I was memorable in every way. Growing up I always strived for the best grades, participated in sports, joined clubs, and was very involved when it came to school. My parents did not do well in school and never went to college. Ever since I was little, I always liked getting good grades and felt a sense of accomplishment. Knowing my parents did not go to college and did not do so well in school made me want to try harder. However, with that, I would, at times, find myself stressed. I often felt like I would spread myself too thin; I would have more things to do than I had time for, especially during my senior year. I was taking all Cambridge classes, participating in sports, being involved in NHS, and being involved in SGA as the historian. Because of all the stress I was feeling during my senior year, I knew that when I got into college, I would keep myself at a minimum, meaning I would do college and work. I knew college was important, and I wanted to make sure I would be making enough time for it as well as time for work, and the easiest way to do that is to keep it to just those two things: college and work. I, of course, make time for friends and family, but I wanted to make sure I did not feel like I had a lot going on to the point where I felt stressed from everything. I definitely struggled with this, but I can proudly say I have worked on it. All of the photos below were taken during my senior year. I know who I was goes farther back than my senior year of high school, but it was when I felt the most significant shift from who I was to who I am. I have changed a lot since then, and even if I have not, a lot in my life has changed.

Who I Am Now…

As for who I am now, I accomplished my goal of getting into college; I got married at the beginning of this year, and yes, I mean 2024, so very recently. I am the proud parent of my fur baby, sparky. I live alone, not because I did not want to live at home anymore but because my mom moved to another state. I wanted to remain in Florida, especially since I knew I would move to Alaska shortly after. I look at who I am now and know that who I was shaped me into who I am. I know I will change in the future, but who I am now will shape me into who I will be. I look at any struggles or hardships and try to better myself from them. Change is good and something everyone needs sometimes. I feel like I just started becoming who I am. I recently graduated from high school, which has been a significant change; as I said before, that was the most significant shift from who I was to who I am now, and I know I will change. However, I have experienced much change more recently since graduating from high school, which has led me to who I am now.

Who Am I Becoming…

Who am I becoming… That is a hard one mainly because it is so unknown, but if I had to say who I want to be, I would say I want to be someone who enjoys the little things and takes more time to enjoy life and the outdoors. Just like I have seen Florida and taken in its natural beauty, I want to be able to do the same with Alaska. I have already gotten a sneak peek, but there is still so much more I want to see. I want to be someone who is more active; since I have left high school and stopped playing sports, I have not done much physical fitness, so I want to get into that. There is so much more I could say about who I want to be, but saying who I want to be is one thing, and who I am becoming is another. I guess I will have to wait and see what the future holds. (I did not add photos to this section because I have not experienced it yet; I am leaving it open to future possibilities.)