What Makes Me, Me.

This assignment should be easy. It should be easy to talk about yourself, because no one knows you better than you, right? Well out of my four years of college, I have found my most difficult assignments to be the ones where I must talk about myself, including this one. I have never thought of myself as diverse, but when I took the time to reflect upon it I found that it was the characteristics that I thought made me “plain” are actually the ones that make me stand out.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION:
My name is Kaleigh and I am BORN and RAISED in Arizona. Being a native to Phoenix is something that I always thought everyone living here was. In elementary school that is what seemed to be the trend, and even all the way through high school. I always thought the kids that moved to Phoenix were the minorities; however I have come to learn that the minority is really me. Entering into college and into a diverse work field, I have come to meet so many people from all over the United States. At first I could not understand why anyone would move to Arizona on purpose, yet after hearing from people who are from the Midwest or back East, I can start to see why and have grown a greater appreciation for where I am from. Also, a sad fact that definitely makes me diverse, especially knowing that I have lived in Arizona for almost 22 years is that I have yet to see the Grand Canyon.

FAMILY:
Family is a HUGE part of my life and I am so grateful for every member of my ever so growing tree. Now knowing that I am a native of Arizona I must also say that I am a first generation Arizonan too. My dad was born and raised in Colorado while my mom was born in Illinois; however, it was the Arizona desert that brought them together 30 years ago. They have been married now for 25 years (this March) and continue to lay a solid foundation for me and my brother. I have come to learn and see that lasting marriages have started to become a decreasing trend, and the fact that I am fortunate enough to still have the same parents makes me diverse. In our family of four I am the oldest sibling and I have a younger brother who has grown to be one of my best friends. Do not get me wrong, growing up we would fight like all siblings do and our mom would always tell us that we would love each other one day, and she was right. I am so fortunate to have him as well as each one of my family members in my life.

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS:
Last but not least, something that I feel sets me apart is my religious beliefs. I have grown up being a Christian, going to Sunday school, and learning God’s word. In high school I got burn out on the routine of going to church on Sundays. I did not give up God, but I did give up on going to church each week. During this time my parents never once pushed or pressured me into going, and let me learn and grow on my own, something I am very grateful for. As I went through this growing process I started to feel myself disconnect and I did not like it. I wanted to be able to go to church, understand God's word, and have a relationship with Him because I wanted to and not because I had to. After graduating and entering into college I started to look at the whole religion idea as more of a label and not really as a belief. I still consider myself a Christian in a sense that I go off the teachings of the bible and Jesus Christ, but I see all of it more as a relationship with God and not just a religious title or label.

Through this I have grown so much more in my faith and have been blessed to share that with so many other people. Towards the end of my sophomore year of college, I was asked to join an organization called Young Life, and I have been hooked ever since. It gives me the opportunities to continue to grow myself with amazing peers who share the same beliefs, as well as to share the good news with kids who may have never heard of Jesus Christ as something other than a curse word. I have learned that even though I have taken a few detours off the path of my walk with Christ, I have learned that I have never once been alone. It has taken me to the limits of asking “why” and learning to understand things on my own; all of which all goes back to my foundation of family and their ability to help me understand without ever forcing me to.

All in all I know there are many other factors that make me diverse, however these three things, especially my family and religious beliefs, are the ones that I feel most prevail in my life. I hope that whoever had the opportunity to read just a little bit about me got see just a glimpse of what sets me apart, because I know I did.