Symbols Rough Draft

Dru Powell

Mr. McElveen

English II

13 August 2013

Symbolic Autobiography

There are many  that define who I am as a person.  Everyone, whether they realize it or not, has multiple personalities that change and evolve depending on their life at that time.  However, no matter how much that wavers, there is always a core foundation that people’s personalities are built upon.  I am changing as a person everyday, but there are certain symbols that represent my inner complexion such as the color pink, pictures, my swimming ring, a quote by Mother Theresa, and a fork.  Each of these symbols have a special meaning in my life and will be an everlasting source of information about who I truly am as a person.

From a young age, my favorite color was pink and it hasn’t changed since then.  Today in society, pink represents femininity, and a “girly girl” would be a good way to describe me.  Literally, the color pink represents my outward appearance and feminist ways.  I enjoy shopping, especially with my family, because they know me well and pick out clothes that I like.  I love doing my hair and putting on makeup just like you would expect any girl to do.  Surprisingly, I don’t wear the color pink a lot.  Most of my clothes are neutral or pastel colors. 

Symbolically, the color pink represents compassion, nurture, and love.  In my life, I try to treat everyone with respect, and I give them a fair chance to show their real selves without judging them.  If I close myself off from others right from the beginning and refuse to get to know someone, a lot of valuable relationships could be passed up.   I like to develop deep relationships with people and I enjoy sharing their company.  Once I get comfortable with people, there is a certain trust that is built and we can share things with each other and ask for advice.   Many of my friends come to me for advice, and I consider it an honor that they value my opinions.  Because of my experiences talking to my friends, I have developed an interest in psychology.  My mom is a psychologist, so I get to see how she impacts people’s lives every day.  Psychology would be a way for me to express my love for helping others.

My room is covered in pictures of my friends and me.  They add personalization to my room and make it my own.  Also, pictures are an intimate way to decorate any space and make it still interesting for other people to look at.  The pictures not only reflect the people I like to be with, but also the things I enjoy doing and places I have been.  I have multiple swim caps on my bulletin board because I swim for Episcopal and Crawfish Aquatics.  Over Mardi Gras break during ninth grade, I went to Spain with a group of Episcopal students, and I have several pictures from that trip in my room.  I would give anything to go back to Spain, and the pictures help me remember what a special trip it was. 

The pictures in my room serve as constant reminders of the many special people in my life that I am surrounded with.  They represent the experiences I have had and what I have learned from them.  Every moment that I share with my friends is an opportunity to grow as a person.  I learn life lessons from my friends.  By just being around them, they help me to take life a little slower and enjoy it.  Sometimes when I’m having a really good time, I wish that I could just pause life for a while so it would last forever.  Taking pictures is a way to treasure those moments. Encounters with people in life serve many purposes and by saving pictures, reflections can be made on my experiences so that I realize more each day how my friends impact my life.

My favorite piece of jewelry is my swimming state championship ring.  Our team has a trophy that we all share and it’s displayed at school, but our rings are our individual trophies.  I wear mine everyday and rarely take it off because it always reminds me of how great that feeling was to win and keeps me motivated to win again.  In some ways, it is a fashion statement and I like the way it looks, but it doesn’t look like any traditional ring that a teenager would wear.  Typically, people ask me what it is for, and I enjoy telling them the story behind it.

Besides symbolizing our team’s win, my ring symbolizes all of the hard work that it took to get to the point in swimming where I am today.  I have been swimming since sixth grade, and for the last two and a half years, I have basically dedicated my life to the sport.  I have practice every day, and in the summer, I have practice twice a day on two days of the week.  I am proud of the work that I have put into this sport and my dedication makes every accomplishment that much sweeter.  This ring is symbolic of my work ethic, commitment, and sacrifice.

At the end of eighth grade, my parents gave my sister and me each a framed picture of a poem written by Mother Theresa.  This poem is perfect to live by because it says to not worry about other people’s thoughts of you and just worry about yourself.  I often find myself worrying about these things, and if I ever need a reminder to be courageous, I just go over and look at the picture.  It goes like this: 

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.  If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. 

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them.”

This poem isn’t just a reminder for me when I am at a tough place in my life.  It is also a reflection of my morals and view of life.  I have found that I am a much happier person when I just worry about myself.  Even when other people make bad decisions, I stick to what my conscience tells me to do and what I believe is right.  This is an aspect of my life that I am very proud of, and I hope I continue this in the future.  Even if I get a little distracted, I can look back at the picture and get right back on track.  Also, I am catholic and I consider myself a pretty religious person.  I value my faith and relationship with God because I know without it I wouldn’t be the person that I am today.  I know that Mother Theresa was a person of great faith, and her life should try to be emulated.

Finally, a fork is my most important symbol. A fork is used to eat food, which provides the body with nutrients.  Without nutrients, any body will start to slowly loose its strength.  Over time, it will shrivel up and not work properly as it should.  Characteristically, a fork usually has four prongs, and each one of those represents a member of my family. 

Just as a fork feeds my body nutritionally, my family feeds me emotionally.  Every night, our family comprised of my mom and dad, twin sister, and me, sit down at our dining room table for dinner.  It is one of the only times in the day that we all get to be together without having other things taking our attention from each other.  We value the time that we have together and talk about how our days were and what’s going on in everyone’s lives.  There’s plenty of joking around, especially from my sister, and we always end up smiling no matter how bad of a day we had.  I am so thankful for my family and everything they do to make my life the way it is.

Individually the aspects of my life that these symbols represent are ordinary, and almost every person can relate to them.  When they are combined, they create an individual person that is different from everyone else.  These symbols are all part of what makes me unique from everyone else and they represent the way that I like to live my life.