"Little Women"

When I was younger life was awesome and I did not have a care in the world. I played with toys such as Barbies or dress up in outfits and pretend to be a princess but I quickly grew out of that and looked to my backyard and imagination for fun. That was my life when I was younger but I don't really think I actually knew the meaning behind any of the things I was playing with. I once smeared all the makeup in a kit all over the carpet in my room because I was trying to make my carpet tye dye. My parents didn't really want to stop me from playing with those toys either. I was a little bit of a tom boy and all my mom wanted was to dress me up in pink but instead I would go to my dad and play with the worms in the mud while he cut the lawn. However, I did see all my friends and cousins playing with playing with dolls and dressing more girly than me and that made me think that maybe I should be more like them. In this case I questioned myself and the things that I liked to do. Even in eighth grade at recess time I want to jump rope or play kickball while the other girls just sat on the pavement and talked about TV shows or gossiped about something pointless. Now at an all girls school I feel like we are all affected by the media an then we bring it into school with us because it becomes part of our mindset. But I don't think it affects us as much because when we come to school no one really cares about how they look, they are more preoccupied with the homework due or the test that they have next block. I think the media can affect young people but with the help of family and friends kids are able to become who they want to be and not be pressured to grow old to soon.

Identity

My real name that my parents gave me is Kathleen. I never really liked the name Kathleen because it is exactly the same as my mom's name. It's not because I don't like my mom (I love my mom), it's just because I thought that I didn't have my own identity if we had the same name. That is why I am glad that a nickname for Kathleen is Katie. I feel like over the years as my personality has developed people have gotten to know the Katie that I real am and not just another Katie that you see on the street. I know there are a lot of Katies in the world and even in this school, I guess that is why people started calling be Katie O. I have responded to many different names over the years and from that I have realized that that the name doesn't characterize you, it's the person who owns the name that makes you you.
I have also found my identity through what I love most in life, water. I love swimming in it I love rowing on top, and I guess everyone loves drinking it. Since I was a youngster every summer my cousins and I would go down the sure and spend hours on end swimming in the ocean and doing all kinds of aquatic activities. I have also been on a swim team since I was eight years old. As you may have noticed swimming has been a big part of my life for a long time. Whenever I jump into a pool I feel so free as I move through the flow of the water. Swim practices have always been my time to relax and not worry about all the hubbub that may be happening around me. Although I am done swimming on a competitive level I don't think I will ever stop swimming for fun because that would be like loosing part of who I am. Another part of me that occurs around water is crew. There is nothing better than coming off the water after a good practice or race a feeling like you can do anything because you can move a boat a high speeds through the water while becoming one with eight other girls. Rowing has helped me to discover the important things in life and just let the little stresses float on by.
I think the best part about my identity is that I am always discovering more about me. Next year I will be going to Northeastern University and I am most likely going to start out with an undeclared major. At this time there are many thoughts going through my head.I'm not sure if I want to be a marine biologist, zookeeper, teacher, nutritionist, pilot, or some other interesting occupation that I just have not yet discovered. As I embark on my journey to college I can't wait to discover more about my identity. Of coarse I know who I am but it would be nice to figure out the part of me that will lead me to figure out a future that will make what I do in life fun and therefore make me the best that I can be.