Who are you?

With the World Affairs Conference earlier this week, I had the chance to hear from people from across our social spectrum. These people gave us a view of a different life. Their stories began a thought process of my own, who we are and how we get to where we’re going.
Life changing experiences, we all have them. Learning to walk, making friends, getting a car, first days of school and graduations, weddings and funerals. All of these shape us into what we become. Some place so emphasis on learning or working, striving to be smarter, stronger, richer, or just greater. Experiences open to those quick out of the gates, and close to those dragging their feet, regardless though, these experiences help make us, us.
What people forget along their road of experiences isn’t the life changers, but the life definers. Instances in our being where we make a decision that shows who we are, not what we are. Decisions such as these are critical, and become elements of that individual. These arise before all of us, each person gaining their uniqueness one choice at a time. When are these moments? One doesn’t know until they’re over, looking back and seeing the affects. For me, a choice of definition came upon my first travel abroad.
I was a senior in high school, had little experience outside Nebraska’s border states, never been on a plane, and I went to Germany for three weeks with a group of strangers. From take off, I was hooked. A fire had been lit, and has continually burned since. To this day, I’ve returned to Europe twice, once for vacation and another as a study abroad. That initial defining moment began an unending addiction to see, taste, try and experience anything and everything.
And the addiction continues, I’ve applied for another study abroad, to China now. This opportunity grabbed hold of me because of what possibilities will arise from it. I will be able to be completely immersed into a culture and people that is far from normal to me. This is what drives me the most, a chance to break free from my “comfort zone.” China, I imagine, will be another defining moment for me.
And what China is to me, is what I imagine is needed by everyone. Times where the world is turned upside down, times that throw you spinning, times that truly define the individual. It’s here that people are able to really see who they are, and what they’re made of. One doesn’t have to fly around the world to see themselves, but they need to be in a place with no safety lines or life jackets, where the true you emerges. For me, its these adventures that pull me out to sea, and I am able to let go and take the ride.
So for those out there, comfortably strolling through life, stop. Take a look at what you’ve done and seen, do you know who you are and not what you’re becoming? I have little knowledge on this when compared to the many speakers heard this past week, but I do know this world doesn’t wait. Now is the time for you to make that choice, something that identifies you. An adventure abroad or just a step out of your everyday norm, something that you can take away with a new image of yourself. Life changes in an instant, but in the big picture, what defines you?