Do you ever ask yourself who you are? We are used to asking children who they want to be when they grow up, but when we are past a certain age, we stop asking ourselves who we are. We often tend to stop growing and just settle into whatever roles we landed in.
When I was raising two young children as a single mom, I thought I had no choices. People told me what I needed to do and who I needed to be. I thought I had to follow all of the advice people gave me. If I did, I would succeed. If I failed somehow, people would at least know I tried. But their advice often didn't fit who we were as a family...who we were as three individuals. I had to break their rules and toss out some of their advice to succeed.
When I look back now, it's the quiet whispers of encouragement that I remember. I can hear a teacher telling me in second grade that I might be a writer one day. I can hear my grandmother telling me stories and encouraging me to use my imagination and be creative. I remember a young man in Key West telling me he knew he was going to die of AIDS, but he knew who he was and that he was loved. He told me he hoped I always knew who I was.
I took me a long time in life to learn how to define myself rather than allowing others to define me. I'm still growing and learning. I hope I remain a life-long learner open to new opportunities, new truths, new ideas, and new people who come into my life. I hope my kids do the same. I try to never define them. I just love them on their journey to finding out who they are.
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