The Year I Discovered Myself

When i was younger I thought I would stay the same forever. Back then my biggest concern was whether I could outrun everyone during tag at recess. Everyday at recess i would race outside and immediately look for my friends Greg and Noah. We spent the entire recess running across the playground. I was fast enough that my teachers noticed. One year I was chosen to represent my grade in a running competition. I was incredibly shy, so I acted like it was no big deal, but secretly I was excited. I didn't win, but for weeks afterward I thought about how proud i felt just being chosen.

As a child, I was always doing something. I attended art class, Telugu class, coding class, pragna class, and taekwondo. I spent 8 years doing taekwondo and even more time drawing, painting, and making random arts and crafts projects. I loved being outside, if i had free time, i would ride my bike, run around, or find some way to stay active.

I also had a long history of failed pets. First there was a fish. Then there were chickens. At one point, i had around 10 chickens, and whenever something happened to them, my parents somehow ended up getting more. Looking back i realize i was way too young to be responsible for keeping animals alive. At that time though, I thought i was an expert. The funny thing is that many of the things I loved as a child are not thing i spend my time doing today . 

Now my life revolves around school, SAT preparations, Girl scouts, music, movies, and friends. Instead of spending hours outside, i can spend hours listening to music or watching videos. Instead of trying to run the fastest i spend more time thinking about grades, college, and my future. 

For a while I thought growing up meant leaving old versions of myself behind. But the older i get the most i come to understand that isn't true. I may not spend all day outside anymore, but i still enjoy learning and exploring new interests and figuring out what i want my future to look like. Looking back I find it interesting how much a person could change over time. Although many of my hobbies and routines are different now the experiences i had growing up helping me shape who i am.