How I Became Me..

Everyone is different in some kind of way. Everyone has different interests, thoughts, dislikes, goals, etc. Everyone becomes who they are through something or somebody. I am who I am because of my two amazing parents, my friends, and my job. I’ve picked up traits from all of them to become me, and if I wouldn’t have, I really don’t think I would be who I am today.

My parents have always had an ability to let me be independent. They always told me “Do what you want, and if it was the wrong choice, learn from it.” They let me grow up faster than I should, and that is amazing to me. Like my mother, I learned to take care of myself and things around me. She helped me become a role model for my little sister and always said, “Regardless how much you all fight, you, your brother and sisters will become friends.”

My mom is the best person I know, and having her by my side my whole life has taught me so much. The best thing I got from my mom is to not be selfish, and to put others ahead of me which is exactly what I do.

My dad is the best dad a girl could ask for! He is so strong willed and taught me to be the exact same. He has always taught me to never give up in something I believe in, and don’t let anyone or anything take that away from me. He taught me to be a girl who doesn’t depend on a boy to be happy, and be a girl who is ready for the real world. By that I mean he taught me I won’t always get everything handed to me, so I have to work at things that I want.

Even though there are many other things that I have yet to say about how I became me, I have to give most of the credit to my amazing parents. Without them, I certainly would not be half the girl I am today.

Although lots of credit goes to my parents, I’ve got my friends that deserve a little credit too. Back in the preschool days I was a bit shy, but through all the years of my crazy friends I’ve became the outgoing, loud, go to girl. Being around my friends has taught me that I always want to be the same person around everyone, and never change that.

My friends, I think, gave me the loud, obnoxious, happy girl personality, and I’m perfectly okay with that because I could never see myself being the shy quiet girl.

Being outgoing and loud landed me an amazing job as a server at Summit Pointe Senior Living. It is through these people that I found out something that I thought was just a myth.

The residents at Summit soon became more like family to me. They began telling me amazing stories, sometimes more than one a day. These stories either lightened up my day, or dulled it. Through all those stories though, I learned to never take any day for granted, and that time is truly the most valuable thing. They tell me daily that your life flashes before you in the blink of an eye, so make every minute worthwhile, because through time you make memories, and memories are the only thing you carry with you your whole life.

I became Haley in a way that probably only makes sense to me. Though I’m not sure if anyone could express who they are in a paper, I know how I became me, and I also know that I could change who I am again through all the obstacles ahead in my life. But for now, I am who I am because I have great parents, friends to count on, and amazing older influences that I met through my job, and that’s all the really matters for now.