The first items include my bag and my map. I love travelling, so these two things symbolize something very important to me. When I travel, I feel free. I get to see and do new things, that totally reshape the way I look at people and their cultures. Seeing the ways people live their lives is an opportunity like no other, and shows how your way of living is not the only one that exists. It’s a very culturally shaping experience, and without my love of seeing these new things I feel like I’d be a lot more close-minded
The next item I brought is a spoon. This is supposed to symbolize both my love for cooking, and my love for food in general. One thing I’ve always learned is that the way to get close to people is to offer them food, or to ask them about their favorite types of food. It’s a way to immerse yourself in the lives of other people, and to experience their cultures in a way no other method can provide. Food is also a source of comfort to me, as it is to a lot of other people. Cooking in general reminds me of my childhood, back before all of my family’s issues, back when we could just sit down with one another, help each other cook something, and have a nice dinner. This personal connection, on top of the connections it gives me to other people makes food a staple part of the way I live my life.
The next item that I brought is a baseball jersey. Baseball has been a major part of my life ever since I was about three years old. I used to play it all the time, but when I figured out I wasn’t any good, I’ve resorted to watching it instead. The sport just relaxes me for some reason. Stepping onto a field or into a baseball stadium is a source of comfort for me. I’m able just lose myself in the game and the festivities around it, as if the rest of the world just doesn’t exist. Most of my finest memories also come from baseball-related memories. I still remember back when I was younger, my family used to go to a Charlotte Knights game almost every weekend. An even clearer memory is my first major league game, in Tampa. I’ll never forget the awe I felt when I walked into that stadium for the first time, or the atmosphere at the games I went to. Even with the memories aside, baseball has made me better as a person, in my opinion. From the brief time period that I played, it taught me to be a bolder individual. My role model was always Derek Jeter. His mantra was that if you truly want something, you’ll work your hardest to get it, and to keep pushing after you’re already there. I’ve grown so much as a person after learning these lessons from baseball, and it is truly embedded in my personal culture.
The fourth item I brought is a book. This used to be one of my favorites as a child, so it has many memories already attached to it. The most important reason I brought it is because of the impact it has had on me up to the present day. Every single night, from the time I was born until I learned how to read, my parents would always read to me. This fostered a love for books that I’ve never really let go. As they tend to do, all of these books taught me a lot of valuable lessons. I feel like they’ve shaped me as a person (for the better), and they have most definitely had a play in getting me to where I am today (academically and intellectually). Without this playing a part in my life, I’d likely be a totally different person today.
The last thing that I brought to present is my trumpet. Music has been in my life even since before I was born. My parents would play music all the time when my mom was pregnant, and according to them I reacted to it a lot. After I was born, my parents and I always had fun singing, or teaching me how to play guitar. Around the third grade, I actually decided to take guitar lessons. I wasn’t the best, but it meant the world to me to actually be a part of the things my parents had immersed my in for years. Around the fifth grade, my love for music absolutely skyrocketed. I decided to join band that year, where I picked up the trumpet for the first time. Since, then, band has essentially been my lifestyle. It has totally reshaped the way I look at life, and is by far the most influential thing I’ve ever partaken in. My closest friends are all in band, and I’ve met and seen so many people and things along the way that my culture has been totally shocked by everything I’ve done. My standards are set by things I’ve learned in band. I feel more disciplined, more proactive, I’ve learned valuable lessons about respect and honor, and self confidence, as well as improved social skills. It is no understatement to say that I would not be the same person today without music or band in my life.
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