“We
do not construct our life stories on our own. We are, rather, in a
constant state of cocreating who we are with the people with whom we are in
closest connection and within those contexts that hold the most meaning for our
day to day existence” –Nakkula and Toshalis
Before
this reading I don’t think I ever actually thought of myself a co-author to my
own life. I think it was just never a thought that crossed my mind. I am a firm
believer in the quote, “Everything you go through, grows you.” Every person in
your life gives you an experience and that experience can either benefit you or
not (at the moment). Even the hard times that seem absolutely horrible and you
question why they happen to you, helps shape you and co-author your story.
Taking
a step back and thinking of people who have helped co-author my life to this
exact moment is tough. I want to create a list of all positive co-authors but
that just is not as realistic as I want. Even including the negatives, my list
of ten did not come easy.
- My mom
- My dad
- My biological sisters
- My cousins
- My grandma
- Amanda
- Jess
- My sorority sisters
- My ex-best friend
- Nick
It
hard to narrow down this list to one person who has provided my story with so
much since some of the people on this list should be in the same category. If I
were to pick, I would pick my mom. My mom is obviously the most important
person in my life, without her I literally would not be on this planet. But aside
from the basic maternal things she has provided me, she has also taught me to
be strong, to have faith and to always be happy with what I have. My mom is the
strongest person I know. In the past five years my mom has had so many personal
struggles that she never let impact her spirits. She has overcome her neck
injury, the loss of her mother and her current battle with Breast Cancer. She
is my inspiration and she has taught me that anything is possible and that if I
have enough faith in myself, I can do anything I set my mind too.
Great post, Channy. Like I commented on Brittany's blog, have you shared this with your mom? Our moms do so much for us, and we often don't show enough gratitude to them. My best friend made me feel really guilty one day for not appreciating my mom enough, to the point where when I left I called her to tell her how much I appreciate what she does for me and that I love her. I think I might have made her cry a little ;) I also like how you included your ex-best friend in your list of people who have co-authored your life. It is so much easier to just think of people who positively impacted us, but we are impacted by everyone we encounter, especially people closest to us.
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