Sources of Identity

A factor that has affected my personal identity is my family. My two parents, Karen and Mike, and my two sisters, Christine and Siobhan, have shaped my character and influenced who I am today. Even my cousins and grandparents have taught me valuable lessons that I still use today. My sisters and I have a strong bond that is strengthened with every passing year of our lives. After my sister Christine went to college, Siobhan and I began to appreciate and utilize the little time we had with her on her breaks/summer. I think this affected my identity because now I try to live life to the fullest during my everyday life and take no time for granted. My mother and my father have also kept me grounded yet given me fantastic opportunities that will help me reach my goals in life.

My closest friends have also affected my personal identity. I’ve had the same four best friends since kindergarten from my grade school Immaculate Heart of Mary. Although none of them attend Mount, I still hang out with them every weekend and talk almost every day with at least one of them. These girls have become my second family, and have taught me to look for certain characteristics they possess in my future friends. I’ve learned every valuable lesson there is to learn growing up with them, and gaining basically four new sisters that I still possess today. While at the Mount, I’ve also gained a group of really good friends that I hope to keep in touch with after graduation. Finally, my various sports teams have affected my personal identity. I believe that belonging to a team and learning sportsmanship, teamwork, and communication skills are some of the best things that sports can offer to a developing child/teenager. Without sports, I don’t know what I would identity myself with. I used sports to gain friends and propel my self-confidence during my childhood years. I played a multitude of sports throughout my life, and now have finally narrowed it down to three. Sports kept me active and occupied most of my time, so I don’t have many other hobbies. The Mount volleyball team was my favorite team by far. I grew so close with all of the girls over the past four years, and I’ll never forget the championships we won and the memories we made. The Mount homepage even commemorates our season by using our championship picture as the welcome picture to the website.