Lost and Found

Since I'm always trying new things, let me start off with this video, and move on from there:

Sometimes, in order to find  who you really are, you have to lose yourself first. Sometimes, and especially for me, you have to start with a blank slate, and build yourself up from there.

For me, my "Lose Yourself" phase was in middle school. Believe it or not, I was a pretty shy kid, wasn't really involved in anything, and did't really have any friends. After some reflection, even at the age of 13, I knew that I needed to make a change to find out who I really was and who I was meant to be. I got involved, went out for a club baseball team, but most importantly, took a class from Dale Carnegie, the world renouned executive leadership company.

The class was called Dale Carnegie Generation.Next, a leadership class specifically tailored for teenagers. I was the youngest person in the class, but that didn't stop me from being the one that truly changed the most. I remember the first class vividly, a bunch of shy teenagers came early, sat in their seats, and were quiet until the instructor arrived. We all came from different background, lifestyles, schools, and experiences, but little did we know that our world was about to be flipped upside-down.

My instructor, a peppy woman named Tracy Robinson, told us that she was going to strip down our personalities and build us better, and stronger from the ground up, and boy was she right. The class taught not only leadership, but public speaking, networking, small-group and large-group interaction, stage presence, but most importantly, confidence. The 8-week intensive course changed who I am, and made me into the outgoing, personable leader I am today.

So now I'm in college, about 6 years removed from my class, and I'm still growing and prospering. I took the Jung Typology test, and here's what it told me:

• I am what they term as a Promoter, with results of ESTP.
• The E, which stands for Extrovert, is the essence of who I am: An outgoing, action-oriented individual who strives for a wide bredth of knowledge. It is an outward function.
• The S, which stands for Sensing, is the basis of how I percieve my reality. I trust my gut on things in life, as well as basing them on facts and data that I have aquired, as opposed to my feelings. It is an outward function.
• The T, which stands for Thinking, is the basis of how I make decisions. I like to step back and take everything in so I can make the best decsion possible. It is an outward function.
• The P, which stands for Perceptive, is the basis of how I live. This means I like to be flexible and keep things open. This is an inward function.

So basically, it told me what I already know, but in a great form. I'm one of those people who is a mix of a lot of personalities, and I can adapt to be the person I need to be for any situation, which is why I love being a leader. It allows me to play many different roles, and succeed in many, if not all of them.

Throughout life, I've gone through many things. Between working at Camp Christopher and becoming President of my student organization (see previous two posts), as well as being youth leader and my parish's Youth Ministry, being captain of my volleyball team, and being a leader on my many baseball team's I've played for, each experience that I've had has allowed me to grow as a person and as a leader.

The most important part, especially for me, is bringing it all together in the end. You can have all these experiences, but until you step back, reflect, and actually learn from them, you won't be able to grow, and you won't be able to find yourself.