“This I Believe”:

The purpose of the assignment is to effectively indicate a genuine statement of belief that connects to a personal story. Throughout my life, there are a lot of things I have learned and beliefs I hold very true, but in some ways, it is hard for me to identify exactly where these values came from or the experience in which I gained a valuable belief. I have considered some significant roles and events in my life that I think have shaped my identity and my beliefs.

Option 1:

Four years ago, as a freshman in highschool, I experienced a horrible ACL tear in my very first high school basketball game. Up until this point, being someone who was good at basketball was a part of my identity. Playing the game was something that made me happy regardless of how my team ever did. Going into the first game, I wasn’t rostered for the team I wanted to be on, and in some ways, that motivated me even more. I went out on the court with something to prove, with anxious and built up emotions, but in the blink of an eye, everything came crashing down when I fell to the floor and couldn’t get up. After the moment, I went through a year long recovery that taught me things about myself, life, and moments we often taken granted. As people move on in life, they often forget where they came from and the relationships that helped shape who they are. However, I realize the issues that come from finding identity in other places and things. When people try to define you as one thing, anything you do before or after that thing is made to be insignificant.  People try to label the value of a person based on what they perceive them to be. If they are good at being that one thing, only then can they actually matter. Sometimes, when we aren’t surrounded by the things that are comfortable to us, people start to lose track of who they actually are.I thought I would never move on from this very low point in my life. However, through it all, I learned that in my weakness, I found my greatest strengths. This I believe.

Option 2:

While some people face this world alone, I wasn’t one of them. Often in life, especially as teenagers, people struggle in finding an identity, finding a place that they belong. This struggle to find acceptance is one that impacts who a person becomes. Although I have also faced this problem, I could always rely on one identity, the was born into because I’m a twin. However, when we left for college, I only then took meaning in my identity as a twin and have realized the ways that we as twins have impacted one another. Through my shared role as a twin, I have learned to understand my identity as an individual. The relationship with Mark has encouraged me to find myself and who I hope to become. I truly believe that I wouldn’t be anywhere without my family. As hectic of a life as it has been, when you step away from it, you are able to see how much you had. No person can become great on their own. This I believe.

Passion Blog:

For my passion blog, I plan to keep the same general topic. Last semester, by blog served to be more informative, providing tips and suggestions on how to survive college. This semester, however, I hope to make the blog more reflective, expounding on things I have learned and things I am still trying to understand. While I think I offered good suggestions last semester, I hope to make my blog more thought provoking and insightful. While I may not offer any “new” information to the audience, I hope it encourages them to think about their own experiences and relate them to mine. It is my goal to challenge my audience when reading my blog and offer perspective on the first year college experience and life as a young adult.

Civic Issues Blog:

For my civic issues blog, I have tried to come up with topics that not only I thought were interesting but ones I would enjoy writing about. One idea I had for my civic issues blog was the idea of celebrity endorsement. A lot of times, celebrities, professional athletes, and political figures have come forward with their stance on civic issues and are immediately attacked or supported. In my blog, I want to explore some significant cases in which these figures have presented their views and how public opinion received them. While some cases have been known to gain massive support, others have been heavily attacked. In exploring these cases, I hope to eliminate biases, raise attention to the effect of public opinion, and also show the influence it has on the public perceiving these controversies. In order to keep a narrow focus, I plan to select civic issues related to race and rights.

Another idea for my civic issue blog is to explore race issues among the millennial generation. In general, people like to believe that millennials, now more than ever, are the most accepting age range of people. While in some cases I think this holds true, I think there are several misconceptions. In the rise of social media, discrimination based on race, appearance, and ethnicity has continued to be publicized. People are more willing to share their life through apps with friends and has increased public opinion on racial issues. In the blog, I hope to explore racial civic issues that have affected millennials and how millennials have contributed to the spread of civic engagement in this area.