Who am I?

For every sociology unit we do we have to do different journal projects that go along with the unit. This weeks unit we had to make a shield that describes who we are. Kind of like a family shield or coat of arms. I then had to write a paper describing my shield I thought that I would share it with you all and I hope this allows you to know me a little better. It may sound a little funny because I just copied and pasted it from my actual essay.
 

When I looked up why people had a coat of arms or family shield I found that knights use to wear them to identify them and set themselves apart from other people, especially enemies. To me there are several things in my life that define who I am today and who I will be tomorrow. On my shield you will see a few of those things that are important in my life they include; a tree, books, heart, sun, music note, barn, RN symbol, a cross, an EM, and the word wanderlust at the top. These are only a few important things that make up who I am and I’m going to share with you why they mean so much to me.

First I want to talk about what the tree represents and why it is so big compared to the other symbols. The tree in this case represents family or a family tree. To me my most prized possession is my family. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving, and supportive family. They stretch all across the country but we all stay very close and connected. I grew up around a lot of my extended family on both my mom and dad’s sides and have learned a lot from them about my family history. Being a history buff I love knowing where my family came from. When you know your family history you realize that you have things in common with people you never even met and it is truly amazing knowing you belong.

The next symbols I want to talk about are the books and music notes. Growing up music and reading were very important in my household. I remember my sister and I sitting with our mom listening to her read. She would read to us and then when we were old enough she encouraged us to read to her. I think that her reading to us really sparked an interest in books with me. I love to read and almost always in the middle of reading a book or two. Along with reading music was big in our house. My mom sang and played the piano and my sister and I would sing and play with her. My favorite genre of music would be old country which was introduced to me by my dad. That is always what he would listen to and it really speaks to my heart every time I listen to it.

            The barn, sun and EM at the bottom of my shield go hand in hand with each other. My whole life I have lived on a farm, represented by the barn, and take pride in the lifestyle that I live. Farming has instilled so many values and lessons into me such as hard work, responsibility, dealing with loss, and optimism which I have represented on my shield with the sun. In the FFA (National Future Farmers of America) they include a rising sun in their emblem and it represents progress and that tomorrow will bring a new day glowing with opportunity. In farming and life it’s important to live for tomorrow and know that it will only get better as time goes on. Finally the EM at the bottom of the page is my brand. In the future I want to live on a ranch and raise beef cattle and bucking horses and bulls so I came up with a brand. What I didn’t know when making my brand was that if you flip it upside down it makes a WE which apparently was my great grandpa’s brand from many years ago.

            Next I want to talk about the cross wrapped in flames. This is the logo for the United Methodist Church. 8 days after I was born I attended my church’s Lord’s Acre days and have been very involved in my church ever since. I have been baptized and confirmed in the Methodist church and will be a member until I die. My faith and church family are very important to me and guide many decisions I make in life.

            The RN symbol on my shield represents my future. Right now I am working towards becoming a registered nurse. The field of nursing that I want to work in is pediatrics. I have always loved kids and being able to help them when they are sick and in the hospital would just make my life happy. A few years ago I got to know a little girl who had type 1 diabetes and I got to learn about her and what she has to go through and that was when it clicked that I wanted to work with kids. Anything I can do to make their stay in the hospital better will be well worth it.

            The last thing that is on my shield I want to tell you about is the word wanderlust at the top. According to the free dictionary website wanderlust is a German word defined as a very strong or irresistible urge to travel. My whole life I have wanted to go to places all over the world. I have had the opportunity to do some traveling and I enjoy exploring other places and learning about their history and customs. What I’m excited about is that I can be a traveling nurse, which means that I can do the job I want and travel and live in different places. Also if I do become a stock contractor (person who raises rodeo stock) I would get to travel the country to different rodeos. Wanderlust just describes me so well and who I want to become.