Vocation

In their reflections, Mr. Palmer and Fr. Martin both touch on the idea that vocation is about embracing yourself and who you are meant to be. They both assert the fact that vocation is a complex idea, encompassing one's personality, career paths and life goals. As a kid, I personally always imagined vocation very simply - either you were called to religious life or called to secular life. No one ever explained to me where these decisions were supposed to come from. Would God tell me or show me a sign as to my life purpose, or would I know inherently?
Fr. Martin and Mr. Palmer both assert that vocation is not something dictated to you by God, but something you find within yourself. Vocation comes from the gifts and talents that you were born with, that God gave you. As we grow older, we begin to understand our callings, our "selfhoods," as Palmer says. From this self-understanding, we can make informed decisions about our lives, our careers, goals and roles in life. Both excerpts also speak of acceptance, accepting who you are and striving only to be your best self, not someone else. While it is good to have role models, from Joan of Arc to Meryl Streep, we cannot be these people. There can only be one you, and it is a shame to waste it trying to be someone else.

Identity

My favorite part of the summer is any given Sunday morning at my grandparents shore house. Almost every Sunday, I know that I will wake up and come downstairs to find my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins and other miscellaneous neighbors or guests fighting over the limited dining room seating, the last drops of coffee, and the best sections of the Sunday paper. Whenever I think of summer, I think of the time spent with my family. We may not have to even say anything to each other, just grumbling and sticking our noses into separate sections of the Inquirer suffices as family bonding. During the winter months, even if I see my family members briefly every few weeks, I miss this intimate bonding time when we are all in one house together. My family has greatly influenced my own identity and made me a very family oriented person. Although I want to explore and experience new things in college, I do not want to be too far away from my family. I want to come to my grandparents house for Thanksgiving weekend and be able to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade in drowsily constructed forts. No matter where I go in life (physically and emotionally), I know that I can count on my family being there, and they can count on me to be there for them.

Another huge influence in my life has been my friends, specifically an elderly Jewish woman I met in the fifth grade. She worked at my school and often seemed kind of lonely, so my friends and I began to meet with her. It eventually developed into a great friendship. She taught us how to knit, and shared her favorite literature and music with us; effectively, she made us a part of her lives and we her. To this day, five of my friends and have "bagels and shmear" with her once a month. We call it the "Knitting Club," but in reality it is mostly just the "Watch Hallmark, Eat Bagels and Talk about Life Club." This 85-year-old woman has had a profound impact on my life. She has taught me patience and diligence and openness.

Finally, my siblings have been really influential and important to me in shaping my identity. When I was about four years old, my brother was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a disorder on the Autistic spectrum. It was difficult growing up with him. Going out places was a nightmare because he was completely out of control. He would get lost or throw tantrums. However, he has developed into an amazing person. After he was diagnosed, he was able to go to therapy, and now most people have no idea about his disorder. He is currently a sophomore taking senior level calculus classes at his high school, which is  mind-boggling to me. If anyone has taught me to be the victor of your circumstances, it is my brother. My sister was born when I was nine years old. Subsequently, I was like her mother more often than her sister. Part of me regrets that we never got to be really close as kids because by the time she was a kid, I was practically an adult. However, she has instilled in me a sense of motherliness and responsibility for others that I do not think I possessed before her.
Autism Awareness Link