16A- Secret Sauce

My Secret Sauce 

1)      What human capital do you possess that you feel makes you unique?

·       Perfectionism: Ever since I was a kid, I have been extremely particular about certain aspects of my life. The most important of that being my attitude towards making a name for myself. I have always wanted to grow up to be successful, so that I could branch out and see a world that many people do not have the opportunity to see. I put all of my effort into ensuring that things are done exactly the way I want them to.

·       Attitude towards Academia: Even since elementary school, I had valued the importance of acquiring knowledge and appreciating the process of learning. I have always felt that one of the most important aspects of life is using knowledge to grow as a person, if you never feel the need to learn how can you expect to get better at something. This is the philosophy I have used to approach school since I was little.

·       Empathy: Growing up in a very conservative and at times close-minded house hold, I feel I have really developed into someone that understands and appreciates the differences in others. There were times growing up that my parents attitudes towards people different than us were unfair and unwarranted, and as a result I have made it a priority to appreciate and learn from people who think differently or look differently. I find this to be extremely important in todays society, because if you cannot empathize with people who are different than you, you can never truly understand their problem.

·       Humor: Although this is trait I feel many people think they exhibit, my humor in particular is unique. I appreciate the light-heartedness of life. I find it important to balance the stresses of live with a positive outlook and humor. If you are constantly drowning in the stresses and negativities in life, it is extremely hard to take a step back and appreciate the smaller things. In order to be successful, I think it is crucial to stay positive.

·       Persistence: There have been quite many times in my life that I have failed. In fact, it is way easier for me to remember the times I have failed at times and the stupid things in my life that I have done. However, I have always found a reason to persevere. Whether it is for my friends or family, myself, or for people I have never met. Being able to bounce back from the hard times in life is what it is all about, and I contribute my 4.0 GPA to my persistence in school.

2)      Interviews: Interviews found on my SoundCloud in the links below:

https://soundcloud.com/user-140467295/emma-interview-1

https://soundcloud.com/user-140467295/fern-interview-2

https://soundcloud.com/user-140467295/mom-interview-3

https://soundcloud.com/user-140467295/palmer-interview-4

https://soundcloud.com/user-140467295/zach-interview-5

·       Emma: Emma has been one of my closest friends since high school. One of the things that she stressed that she values about me is my kind attitude and my work ethic in things that are important to me, such as school. She said one of the biggest reasons we became friends is because how kind-hearted and outgoing I seemed.

·       Fern: Fern has been my girlfriend for the last 6 months. We’ve been through quite a bit together and we’ve known each other for quite a long time. One of the things she stressed in her interview was her respect for my work ethic, but also my ability to learn from others and appreciate people’s differences. She also stressed my persistence, (mentioning that it took 2 years to make her my girlfriend, which is true)

·       Mom: My mom was my fourth interview. Hearing her talk about my drive and motivation even since elementary school was nice as it was something I had already mentioned in my own character traits. She stressed how determined I’ve been throughout my life and especially in my academia, which just goes to show that your mother knows you best.

·       Palmer: Palmer is my best friend. I met him three years ago at UF and we’ve grown to become very close friends. Palmer stressed how much he knows I care about school and my future, and even went on to say that it can be annoying at times. He also stressed that he loves my kind heart and “funny” laugh, which makes it easy for those around me to connect with me.

·       Zach: My brother Zach is probably the person who knows me best. He’s been there for me at every high and low and I respect him more than anyone. Like the other interviews, Zach mentioned how he’s seen me grow for this shy, humble kid to someone who is mature and very outgoing. He also mentioned that my work ethic has always been something that sets me apart from other, as he has seen grind on Fridays and Saturdays knowing that there’s other stuff going on. He also stressed how caring I am for the people in my life that I care about.

Reflection:

This exercise was extremely interesting because there was definitely overlap between the way I see myself and the way those closest to me see me. Almost every single interviewee mentioned my work ethic and drive when it came to school, and this is something I pride myself most on in my life, and those closest to me have noticed as well. There were not many differences, except the fact that Emma and my brother found me to be more caring and warm-hearted than I really saw myself. This probably stems from the fact that I try to be tough and hard on myself but more caring and warm to those that I care about. I absolutely believe my interviewees were correct about me, as many of the things they said about me I also felt about myself. Going back to the list from part 1, I still stand by it. I would not change anything about this list and still feel it most accurately depicts the characteristics about me I hold the most valuable.