"In a later stage in my life, I am thankful my parents have always told me to “do what you love.”

"My Mom is the most special person in the world to me.  We talk about our worries, our hopes, thoughts, and feelings."

"When I was young I decided my daddy was the smartest and most handsome man I knew."

"Moving around the one thing I’ve had which always remains constant and reliable is my family."

Throughout my life, one thing which has remained reliable and the most important to me has been my family.  Growing up, my brothers – one older and one younger – and I were always best buddies.  Sure we had our own friends, but when it came down to it we preferred to be with each other in our little imaginary worlds, usually in a spaceship. 

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My Mom is the most special person in the world to me.  We talk about our worries, our hopes, thoughts, and feelings.  It’s definitely easy to identify that I am “my mother’s daughter.”  I always loved that my mom was a stay-at-home mom.  It always has, and continues to frustrate me how many in our society look down on mothers who choose to stay at home rather than pursue a career.  My mom didn’t choose this path because she had no ambition, or because she’s not smart.  She didn’t feel she had to stay home to please my Dad.  My mom decided she wanted to be there when we got home from school.  She decided she didn’t want to be stressed over things like a career when she could enjoy all the time possible with us and be there to watch us grow and change.  She didn’t want to miss anything I think.  I have come to deeply respect and value my mom’s decisions, and feel someday I may make some of the same choices.  As a college student I have come to understand what she means when she says that she has used her college education everyday of her life as a mother, a wife, a daughter, and as an individual. 

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When I was young I decided my daddy was the smartest and most handsome man I knew.  I decided the man I would marry someday would have to be like him.  At times he frustrates me and we’ll disagree about certain things, but that’s just the way it’ll always be.  The fact remains however that many of the personal qualities and traits which I value I received from him. 

I have always felt an enormous amount of pride regarding my dad, and while everyone has their differing opinions on the military, I’ve always been especially proud when I see him in his sharp white naval uniform.  I feel fortunate to have grown up as a military brat.  Many people have extremely inaccurate views and ideas of the military, I think skewed mostly through television, movies, and media altogether.  Most of these people do not take the time to understand the individuals involved, their thoughts, and why they do what they do.  I feel blessed to have an insider’s perspective of the military and of its men and women, including my father. 

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Much of the reason I am so close with my family, I feel, is from growing up as a Navy brat.  Moving around the one thing I’ve had which always remains constant and reliable is my family.  My brothers and I faced the challenge together of being the new kids at school and making new friends, only bringing us closer together as siblings who did virtually everything together. 

I enjoyed and embraced the challenge of changing schools, going somewhere different, and meeting new people.  Each community we have lived in, I feel, has taught me something, has given me new perspectives into its culture and its people, and has helped to shape who I am today.  I have taken something with me from each place we’ve lived, including Pensacola, Virginia Beach, Wash. D.C. area, Carlisle in Pennsylvania, most recently Brasília, Brazil, and currently Rochester, New York. 

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My two and a half years in Brasília, Brazil had the most significant impact on me as a teenager maturing into a young woman with her own beliefs, ideas, interests, and values, and towards forming an identity as an individual in society.  Through my dad’s career as a helicopter pilot, flight instructor, commander of a squadron, student at the Army War College, and in the office of the Joint Chief of Staff at the Pentagon, he and my mom always wanted to take us kids overseas to live.  They had always wanted to give us the opportunity of experiencing other cultures, meeting people of international backgrounds, ethnicities, and nationalities.  They also wanted us to understand how people in other parts of the world live, and to see more clearly the things we, as middle class Americans, have that many take for granted.  I feel so thankful for this opportunity.  My time there reinforced many of my individual interests and passions, including travel, nature, exposure to different cultures, recreation of the visual world through my art and representation through photographs, as well as a passion for humanity and volunteerism.  The whole experience was an eye-opener for me about another part of the world, about culture, and problems in the world, but also the beauty and compassion which indeed exists in this world.

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My parents have always been supportive of me and of my goals, pursuits, and choices.  I remember when I was in kindergarten some girls at school were accusing me of not going to church, and explaining to me how God created everything: the trees, the sky, people, love, etc.  I came home from school confused and wanted to know what my mom had to say about it because, of course, “mother always knows best.”  As she loaded the washing machine I told her about my encounter at school, and if God did indeed create everything.  She told me, “Well, I can tell you what I know.  Your daddy went to church growing up because his parents believe very strongly in God.  I went to church when I was still a little girl in England.  When we moved to America your Nana and Papa didn’t take us to church anymore.  I don’t believe in God.  Daddy isn’t sure if he believes in God.  You can make the choice for yourself and believe whatever you want sweetie.”  I didn’t realize at the time how much this meant to me.  I didn’t know then how difficult it can be for parents to put their beliefs or pride aside to allow their children to make decisions for themselves.  For the rest of the afternoon I thought about what my mom had told me.  That day I decided I did not believe in a God, and have been an atheist ever since.

In a later stage in my life, I am thankful my parents have always told me to “do what you love.”  At Hollins University I am majoring in Studio Art.  I am so fortunate my parents want me to pursue art and are enthusiastic about the work I produce.  During the past several years I became increasingly interested in and serious about art, many people have helped bring this to my attention.  I believe we still live in a time in which many people still look down upon non-academic subjects such as the arts.  I met many people in Brazil whose parents and families forbade them from pursuing art.  This included people I knew from Brazil, Germany, the United States, and several other nationalities and backgrounds.  They all told me to keep with it, especially because my parents were supportive.  They told me on a regular basis that if this was what I loved then to just do it, because there’s no point in trying to do something that wouldn’t bring me happiness or fulfillment in life.  This encouragement has inspired me. 

This inspiration I strive to apply to an ever-present dream of mine, to become a National Geographic photographer.  Of course, as I progress through my college education I learn more about myself and what I want out of life.  For now, I don’t know if I can fulfill this dream, combining it with other aspects of life which I value.  I have decided I will simply figure it out as I go.

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