Where Am I Essay

Where Am I

What shapes our identity?  Sure, as we age more we think more freely we develop and make our identity more complex but where we come from has the greatest impact on our identity.  We can figure out our identity by asking ourselves one simple question, “where am I?”  It’s such a little question with a lot of interpretations and answers, some complex and others simple.  Where am I going?  Where am I at?  Where am I from?  These are just some of the interpretations we can take from this question.  So then, where am I?

Where am I from?  I am from the big city and rural Nebraska.  From barn dances, the sand hills, small towns, know all your neighbors, church every Sunday, overalls, chewing tobacco, and middle of nowhere farms.  I am from the McClains with their beef and mashed potatoes for every meal, huge family gatherings, and small town livin’.  I am from the Olsons with their deep European ties, strict no “B.S.” rules, and dedicated hard work.  I’ve been blessed to be apart of these great families and have learned much from them.

Where am I at?  I am sitting in a room at school forcing myself to write this paper.  I’m in Aurora, Nebraska the town and state I’ve practically lived in all my life.  I am in the United States, the best country in the world. I am also at the beginning of my life.  I am near the intersection of my transformation of child into adult and for the past few years I’ve been speeding attempting to reach it sooner and now it’s just around the corner.  I don’t really know what waits for me after that turn, but I have prepared as much as I can for it.

Where am I going?  For the past few years I have begun really doing activities to set me up for success for my future plans.  I’ve been taking school more seriously and taking college courses in case I decide to go to college someday.  I enlisted in the Marine Corps a couple weeks after I turned eighteen, back in August.  I recently discovered that I am going to be apart of the security forces (8152).  More than likely, the first two years of my career I’ll be guarding a high priority area such as nuclear vessel,  area with nuclear weapons, and other places such as Guantanamo Bay.  After those two years I believe I’ll rotate to fleet and join up with an infantry unit.  Since I enlisted I have started working out much more and my goal is to have a perfect Physical Fitness Test score (PFT) by the time I ship to boot camp.  I am studying up on my military knowledge such as rank structures, the general orders of a Marine sentry, leadership traits, leadership principles, and Corps history.  Now I just need to work on my foot work so I don’t look like a “Gomer” during drill.  I  hope by doing this I make myself a better person, Marine, get a leadership role in boot camp-either squad leader or guide-and get promoted to Private First Class (PFC) while in boot camp.  I think I will make a career out of the Corps, at least twenty years so I qualify for retirement benefits.  After the Marines I plan on going into law enforcement.  I think I’ll  become a patrol officer or join S.W.A.T, like my dad, in a city and once I get too old I’ll get a desk job of sorts and continue to work during retirement so I don’t die of boredom.

I have been blessed to have the background I have.  All the positive role models and influences have also helped me greatly in my formation.  Though I strongly believe that we become our own person with or without our background, it certainly gives us certain advantages and disadvantages.