Where Youve Been and Where You Plan on Going - Essay Example

You're 28 April 2006 Development and Growth Requires a Strong Knowledge of Where You've Been and where you Plan on Going Life can be hard; it doesn't come with instructions in a nice, neat little papered box with a ribbon on top. Personal experience has taught me that in order to understand where you really want to get in life you have to first fully comprehend where you have come from, and where you have been. Medicine has always been something I have found interest in, which is the main reason why I entered college to gain a degree as a respiratory therapist. The country where I originated from would not have allowed me to have the opportunities that I have been granted with here in the United States. In order to offer a better understanding as to what my implied meaning is in this statement, I will introduce a brief idea into the ethnic culture of Haiti and its people, to give more of a background of where I originated from, and my personal roots. Growing up in Haiti, I learned at a young age that it takes ambition and determination in life to get to where you want to be. I witnessed children struggling alongside their parents, in fields, working long hours, just to try and make ends meet, keep sustenance on the table, and clothing on their backs. Though times in Haiti could be hard, they could be fulfilling as well. For many of the young people, these hard times are exactly what lead them to strive harder to achieve something in their life, and help make their family's lives better as well. I am very much this same way. I grew up in a village similar to ones like Fondwa, where although the countryside can be seen as beautiful, life in itself was and is very straining, especially since I did not live with my mother but lived with my father and my other siblings. The house I grew up in was also very much like the houses you could find in the villages scattered about the island of Haiti. We had a very small, modest house but it was enough to keep us from the elements, and it provided a place for us to be a family as well. However, we often shared our house with other members of our village, which by doing this, taught me that sharing is a great thing to do as it brings about the emotion of compassion and emanates kindness onto others. The majority of houses in Haiti are small, domesticated types of homes, many with the famous white picket fence, and a group of children standing around outside in the summer (Williamson 2004). Furthermore, Haitian people are not lazy. This can be proven, as many of the adults, as well as children work together to bring completeness to their community. If something needs done then often times many work alongside one another until the project is complete. The following quote by a Haitian man goes to emphasize this point fully and rather matter of factly. "One must always work a little to help one's community" (Williamson 2004). In this way, the Haitian people can all feel as if they have achieved something and bettered their living environment. This was always highly impressionable on me as a child, and is yet another reason why I stay so determined to follow my goals through and do whatever it takes to get to where I want to be. Of course this is following my own roots, which at times I am not even aware that I am doing, it is just an inept attitude that I have developed about life. I have had to learn that when times get tough, you can't just give up and give in, you must do whatever it takes to continue on in your life, if you're ever going to get to that place where you want to be. Also, by understanding your own self better, and your past history, you'll come to the realization that it has a major impact on how you engage in activities in your adult life. This is exactly what I have found, as the Haitian culture and its roots are very much a part of my persona. Another aspect of my life in Haiti that has lead me to where I am in my life today is the fact that in my original country, children did not always have the opportunity to go to school. I was among the lucky ones, but on the weekends I did the exact type of work that other children did. Only half of the children that are of age to go to school actually go in Haiti. This isn't because they don't want to, but rather their family can't afford to lose their hands in the work that ensures their sustenance. Many times I would see children who should have been in school with me, working in the fields, leading animals along side the road, or simply just dazedly walking or sitting around due to their parents inability to provide them the materials necessary to be able to go to school. In Haiti, children wear uniforms to school, it is mandatory. The children whose families couldn't afford to do this were not allowed to enter public school (Williamson 2004). This is one of the main reasons I decided that I would not let my mind go to waste, and decided to further my education in order to make the best of myself that I could. I would recall my memories of seeing other children who wanted to go to school yet couldn't, and it brought on me the realization that I had an opportunity many young people never do, to go to college. So based on my cultural roots and my personal beliefs I decided to do the right thing, and that is exactly what I have been doing. It is very hard, especially when I must go to school, work, and then care for my husband and family at the same time. However, again I resort back to what my life use to be like growing up, and the hard times I had once I came to the United States, and I then come to the realization that I won't lose to failure. I will strive to excel no matter how hard it becomes. My fortitude and dedication has lead me to many places, although I still have many more places I would like to go. I am very aware that the many facets of my past life experiences are what propel me forward, especially those experiences from child-hood. Also, the reason I feel socially adjusted is due to how my own culture focused on the social aspects of life, regardless of how hard times might have been. These are all qualities that help a person in knowing where they are going, as well as where they have been. Determination is just another part of this idea, which has been briefly mentioned already. The idea of being determined about something can affect individuals in different ways, for me it has influenced me to better myself, and extend my dreams further. For others it might be about a movement of resistance, in retaliation of their beliefs, on which they become determined to stop something that goes against those beliefs, such as in 2003 with the granite religious icon that was to be removed from its public place (Duin 2005). The Ten Commandments have a large part in Christian life, and this is why so many people of various religious faiths came together to try and prevent the removal of the slab of the Ten Commandments. Even if they did not win out, they still focused on determination and stood steadfast on their beliefs and values. I admire this about those people and I too feel strongly that it takes determination to get a point across at times. Though the outcome might not always be the way a person intended it to be, it is the fact that you don't give in, and stand strong in the face of adversity and opposition. This is what determination is all about. Those Christians who fought to prevent the removal of the Ten Commandments also understand the true meaning of determination, as well as having a strong understanding in where they came from. Their belief in God and all that they have been taught is what urged them to stand up against something they saw as wrong. The determination of Christian, kind, caring people has the power to change things as the following quote shows, and as which I personally believe myself. Change will come when a certain percentage of American Christians known only to God, humble themselves and pray. He will lean over from heaven and pour out a blessing, not only for Christian people but on Non-Christian, and Christian a-like (Duin 2005). Faith and determination has the power to heal, the power to move mountains. I know this for a fact as I look at where I have come from and where I have been and realize that the determination and faith in my life has marked my way and lead me to where I am right now. Not very many people ever realize this but it is something that indeed they should. Family also plays a heavy part in a person's determination to go farther in life, farther than where they actually came from, in a more improved way. The idea of family and the values that were passed down to me as a young adult, from my mother, my father, and even my other siblings, is the main reason that I have a family myself today. Family is one of the most important aspects of life. Caring about your family and communicating with one another is a great guide in discovering what you need in your life, what your family needs, and where you need to go to get that. Not only does a person consider this idea but they look back on where they have come from, as I myself do. Without the values that were impressed upon me, I might not be in college today, nor have ever gotten married, one can never tell but it is quite comprehensibly on how my views on family got me to where I am now. The main point is when one cares about a "family", you have developed the concept of "family values" (Marano-Estroff 1997). Family and family values play a big part in who a person becomes, what they want to achieve in their life, and where they want to be, as was mentioned. However, there are obstacles that often appear in a family that can prevent a person from getting to that place where they want to be or need to be. I have faced these types of adversities. I have had to do a number of odd jobs in the past just to ensure my children would have food to eat and decent clothes to wear for school. I have worked three jobs at one time to guarantee my family does not fail. These are strong family values that have guided me and taught me many life lessons. I had to realize that there would be times when my own life would have to go on hold for that of my children because I did want them to go somewhere in their lives too, that meant making sacrifices. I have been more than willing to do that. However, if only many of the problems such as, employment, job training, poverty, marital problems, and a myriad of others could get the attention they need to mend wounds, then families would be much stronger than what they are, and many obstacles could be overcome to ensure a brighter future for young people (Marano-Estroff 1997). Growing up without my mother in one half of my life was very difficult and I never wanted to see my children have to be apart from me, so my past experiences taught me what I needed to do to guarantee that same thing did not happen to them. Now, they are grown and I feel I have done all that I can to help them find themselves and where they want to go in life, based on their own past experiences. I've learned parenting is a very trying experience but one that is full of worthiness and pride in the many accomplishments that come from it. Parenting takes an individual places that they thought they would never go, and there are times when you can feel your own top of the clouds and others where you feel you're at the bottom of the ocean. These are all learning experiences that affect who a person is, and of which have definitely had their impact on developing who I am and who I have become. Yet another aspect of learning and life that depicts where you were in life, where you are, and finally where you want to be has a lot to do with your own personal attitude. I have not always had the positive attitude that I do right now. Of course I have always been blessed with strong values and morals, as well as positive beliefs and influences, I have had doubts about my own self and the progress I have made in getting to where I am. It is natural of course, to have questions about whether or not you are where you should be in life. I even deal with them now. Throughout life I have heard, and been told that there are two ways in which you can now if your on the right path in your life, and heading to where you really want to be. One of these is based on your own "intuition", and the other is rather based on what appears to be a logical path of reasoning, somewhat methodological in its own right (Benderly-Lieff 1989). It is said that people, have psychic abilities that they utilize everyday, often not even aware of them. One of these is the power of your own intuition which can drastically improve your life and the circumstances that you encounter (Ramdhanie 1998). I personally have always gone with my own intuition in my life. Perhaps this was because of how I was raised to believe that what you feel in your gut can never be wrong, it's not totally clear. Either way, even now I feel that I am definitely where I should be due to the hard-work that I have done to get here. My family's support of my efforts and their appreciation of all that I have endeavored to do have left me with a feeling of completeness. It is one where I simply know that I've done the right things and I definitely have ended up where all of my efforts have lead me, from the past to the present. In conclusion, I have many reasons to be thankful for all my accomplishments, definitely for my own intuition which has helped me to discover many ways to improve upon the quality of my life, trust and faith in my family, my past childhood experiences, my social experiences, and my own honest belief in myself. Without these I don't think I would have found how to get to where I wanted to go. I don't believe anyone could. As they say, everyone uses "psychic abilities" everyday; I feel my strongest one has been simply believing in myself. Works Cited Benderly-Lieff, Beryl. "Everyday Intuition." Psychology Today. Volume 23, (1989):1 Duin, Julia. "Believer's Aim to Reclaim America; Take Stand Against Secularists Vision of Nation." The Washington Times. (2005):1 Marano-Estronoff, Hara. "A New Focus on Family Values." Psychology Today. Volume 30, (1997):1 Ramdahanie, Sandra. "Sandra's Psychic Solutions." The Sunday Mirror. (1998):1 Williamson, David. "Making Do: Resourcefulness and Desperation in Haiti." The Christian Century, Volume 121 (2004):1 Read More