Who am I?

Three specific factors that have affected my identity are my family, my friends, and my volunteer work. My family affects my life profoundly. Of course, since I live with them every day they help to shape my identity and my personality. My immediate family is my mom, my sister, and my dad. My mom is one of my biggest role models, and I admire her faith, fortitude, and compassion. My older sister is also a role model, even though sometimes we have our disagreements and fights. She is a very hard worker and independent. Each member of my family has traits that I look up to and aspire to possess.

Family is important! One family I love is the Weasley family from Harry Potter. My friends also help to shape my identity. I like to surround myself with people of all different backgrounds, which in turn leads to my interest in diverse cultures. I have friends of many different faiths, like Hinduism, Christianity, and Judaism, to name a few. I also am friends with people from many diverse cultural backgrounds and different sexual and gender identities. These diverse friends give me new insights into the world, which keeps me open minded and piques my interest in different cultures, which in turn leads to my love for travel.

My volunteer work also affects my identity. I volunteer at a local zoo as an educator. My work at the zoo has taught me many things that affect my identity. One of those things is patience, which I learn from working with children. I also learned the value of volunteer work, which is a rewarding experience that I would never trade for a "normal" paying job. I also gained a love of teaching by assisting with and giving live animal shows for birthday parties and special events. These shows have improved my public speaking skills, creativity, and confidence. Also, my love for animals has deepened even more now that I have worked with exotic animals-- from snakes to vultures to opossums.

One of our educators with our black vulture, Hoover. The site for the zoo is to the right.