Do you ever stop to ask yourself who you are? How did you get to the place you’re at today? Or, maybe how did you become you?
It seems to be simple, but when you stop and think, you might question them all. When I do it, or have to answer them in interviews, I always ponder it for a few moments. In reality I know where I came from, I know how I got to be the person I am today, and most of all I know who I am.
Who am I? I am the daughter of a retired firefighter, a 101st airborne army man who raised me since the day I was born. He instilled kindness into my soul, taught me right from wrong, and most of all, how to love and fight for what I believed. That’s me in a nutshell.
The person behind my walls was a man that I had to say goodbye to 14 years ago; that’s when I questioned all of the above questions. It was when I doubted myself more than I ever had before. When you lose the one that guides you on your journey, it’s hard to recover as you learn to do it all on your own. Years pass by before you finally realize that life does go on for everyone, and that includes you. You become a mother, strive to be the best wife that you can, a co-work, and friend. In the end, you are still you, just a little wiser, maybe a little more cynical but still you.
As more time goes on you find that person that was hidden deep within your soul. Once that inner voice has been located, and you can answer the final question; a part of you has healed.
Life becomes about memories and finding that guidance in new locations, and within new people as you grow. It’s the small things that show you who you are; it’s the choices that you make that define the person you have become. It’s the thing that makes you look around and question, do we ever really know the person next to us? Probably not, but that’s what make each person unique and special.
As most celebrated Father’s Day today, I pondered who I am. At the end of the day, I’m happy with the way life has turned out for me. Does it make today any easier? No, not really but I know tomorrow will bring a new day full of sunshine, and that will make me smile. I know next week as I step into a new journey that was always my dream, that will make my father happy. For that, I thank him, and my husband for always having enough faith in me to do what I love.
If it weren’t for my dad, I wouldn’t have become the young adult I grew into. Then with lose, I wouldn’t have the strength to make the life choices I have had to make as I’ve grown older.
So who am I? Tonight I have those answers while tomorrow I might question them all again. I close this blog with a big Happy Father’s Day to a man that made me into the person I am today. Thank you for the years of unconditional love, support, and just enough guidance to figure it all out years later.
