Who You Are Matters

 Where I am from

I am from Huntington Beach, California. 

Where I am going:

After I graduate from USC, I will be commissioned into the US Army as a 2nd Lieutenant. This will start my official military career, which will hopefully be for the long term, 20 years at most. 

How I am going to get there

I’ll get to my goal by putting my nose to the grindstone and making sure I pass my classes for my last two semesters with satisfactory grades. After graduating and commissioning, I will use all the skills that I have learned from the 4 years I have spent at USC ROTC’s program to further learn how to be a great officer in the US Army. Skills that I learned from doing simple things like interacting with other cadets and the cadre and skills learned out in the field will come in handy in the long run. 

How I am like my parents

Being raised by my parents and having a strong relationship with my family, it’s only normal to share similar values to them. When I was young, my family was not very well off, since none of them ever had enough money to actually graduate from college. Both my mom and dad came to America during the Vietnam War when they were children, so they just weren’t very fortunate growing up. So growing up poor, my family taught me valuable lessons that became my values that I hold on to to this day, even if we’re well off now compared to back then. My mum always told me not to waste food and recycle certain things that could easily be tossed in the bin, which just taught me to be creative when it came to the use of things. Similar to my mother, I learned to be resourceful, but I also developed a habit of passing down tips like my mum would for me. My father was able to land a well paying job through his skillset and his tenacity. Despite my background, I was able to transfer into a school like USC, so I would say I am similar to my father in that regard.

How I am unlike my parents

Naturally, I consider my parents good-natured people if they were able to teach me such important life lessons and values. However, I feel as though I cannot say the same for myself. People have a natural sense of right and wrong. I wouldn’t know what is considered right or wrong unless someone told me. Instead of morals, I have standards that are mostly taught by my parents. 

Expectations for myself

I have been told that I put too much pressure upon myself, and while that may be true, to me, it just means that the expectations that I set upon myself are just high. No one told me to make a career out of the army. No one told me to not be at the bottom of the class ranks. I am just always seeking to improve. If my expectations are too high, it doesn't mean that they were wrong, I just need to focus on smaller goals that will eventually lead me to meet my expectations.

My role model that is not a relative and who lives life with great passion and personal responsibility

While I wouldn’t go as far as to call them my role model, I often compare myself to the cadets of my class that are considered to be at the top of the class rank. I look at them to see what I am lacking as a person or cadet and use them to improve myself, whether that be interpersonal tact to deepen relationships or just better work habits. 

Connecting with the Animal World

They say crows are intelligent, and studies show that they are able to recognize and remember faces. 

https://youtu.be/00XSbacEasA?si=oFRESRgSbcf7A7BL

Portrayed in the video is a crow attacking/harassing a person. What could be speculated about this relationship is that humans must have done something to make the crow hold animosity towards the other, as it’s not usually in their nature to attack unprovoked. Crows’ ability to remember faces and act on their resentment reminds me of my unhealthy habit of holding grudges. On a positive note though, their resourcefulness is like my own thanks to my upbringing. 

Connecting with the Nature Kingdom

I don’t recall having any noteworthy moments that I have had with a plant or tree when I was a child, but I do feel a slight connection with the yucca palm or joshua tree. They seem to be everywhere I go ever since my internship I had two summers ago where I counted yucca palms for an entire week in search of a possible location for a solar farm site. After counting thousands of them, I still saw them. I was playing Cyberpunk 2077, and going into the Badlands was a desert with most of the shrubbery being short yucca palms. And my neighborhood even has the word yucca in its name. I can’t seem to escape from those spiny trees. 

Sun Sign: 21 Degrees Taurus

Moon Sign: 29 Degrees Virgo

Rising Sign: 19 Degrees Aries