Thomas 1

Aaron Thomas
Professor Jizi
UWRT 1103
1 October 2015
Self-Authorship Essay 1
Over the years I have gained and lost different identities. As a child, I was a dreamer. I
had different fantasies about my future every day. One day I would dream about going to
Harvard and building roller coaster at Disney World. Another day, I would dream about
becoming a superhero who would protect the innocent. Since then I have forgotten about such
dreams and created new ones. I am still a dreamer but I dream about being successful and
earning a high salary. I dream about having a job I love to do and making a positive impact on
society. I am someone who has had a lot of failure but I am also someone who sees the error in
my ways and learns from my mistakes. I am a student who wants to make my parents proud and
graduate with a good job. I am someone who cares for those close to me. I have gained many
identities through the years, some that I am proud of and some not so much but in the end all
these identities have helped me identify my core values and made me who I am today.

Core values are different depending on the person. Creativity is the core value I hold
closest to my heart. This value originated from my parents giving me Legos as a kid. I would
play with them all day. During that time when other kids were outside playing football or riding
their bikes, I would be inside playing with Legos and I loved every single minute. As a came into
high school I viewed creativity with a higher regard due to observing successful people. What I
learned was to truly be the best in a certain field, I needed to have creativity. Another value I

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hold in the same regard as creativity is hard work. No matter how talented somebody else is if
they do not have a good work ethic they will not be successful. I have faced failures in my life
due to the fact I did not work hard enough. I would either procrastinate most nights or just give
up because the activity was to hard. However, I have learned from my prior mistakes and hope to
walk down the road of success.

Many events have influenced the many eclectic actions I have taken. However, rushing a
fraternity has helped me reestablish values that I have long ignored. Even though I have just
recently joined, I could not picture my life any other way. Through this fraternity, I have found
brotherhood. They have also helped me understand the values of hard work, team work, and
volunteering. The first aspect they have thought is brotherhood. First and foremost, they treat
me like family, even the alumni and members I have not met yet. They give me advice on how to
do well in classes and help me when I am facing any trouble. They have also thought me the
value of hard work. These past few weeks I have been struggling in a few of my classes even
though I was studying quite a bit. When I went to my brothers they sat me down and evaluated
what I could do better. The first thing they fixed was my time management. Before I would put
entertainment first and then cram my studies late into the night. They found a solution by coming
with me to the library and sitting and studying with me and after we finished, one of the brothers
bought me Chipotle. They also thought me how to prepare for class. When I first started college
I would sit in the back of lectures and take few notes and a few days before the test, I would just
go over the textbook. Instead, they told me to read the textbook before class so that when I went
to a lecture, it would be my second time hearing the information. They recommended study
groups because everyone can help each other out even if one person was not able to understand

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the material. The values of teamwork and volunteering were taught together. Last Sunday, we all
went to the soup kitchen and helped fed the homeless. I was able to understand how impactful a
little action could have on another human beings life. Just serving one meal to a complete
stranger lit their face with a glowing smile, and I have never felt more helpful. Most people have
a bad stereotype when they think of fraternities. They usually think about parties and preppy
outfits but in reality my fraternity has one of the highest G.P.As out of the IFC and has a Levine
scholar. We may goof around at times but in the end this fraternity has made me into a better
man.

College is the time when children fly from their nests and become adults. Personally I
have a love/hate relationship with college. One of the biggest reasons students are excited to go
to college is the freedom. Freedom in college is a double edged sword. With freedom comes
many choices and those choices can lead me down the road to success or down the road to
failure. I have to battle many temptations. I could either go out and party with my friends and
have a good time or I could study for the test the next day and get an A. Robert Frost was right,
the road less traveled is a lonely one. I love how college brings out my inner qualities. Back
home, I always had my parents to pick up my slack. But in college if I am lazy and do not have
the discipline I will likely not study thus fail a class and waste my parents money. However, the
downside of college is the stress. My classes are almost all night classes and I have 8 A. Ms
three days a week. Also the sudden change from the high school work load to the college work
load has given me much stress. Although I have more freedom, homework and studying takes
most of the time. College has its pros and cons but in the end it will be an experience with many
messages that will allow me to grow.

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Messages however subtle they are can affect a human being. I was given many signals
throughout my eighteen years and they have all affected me in some way or form. My parents
were the first to give me signals. I was in multiple activities as a kid. I was the top of my class in
piano, I beat my chess instructor multiple times, and I was doing well in school. They thought I
was highly intelligent and motivated me to keep going at the talents I was good at. Through out
the years I grew lazier and lazier and even though they still knew I was highly intelligent, they
told me I was wasting my potential. However, as I started to mature I became hard working,
which allowed me to find my strengths.

Strengths can be different per person. One person may be good at playing chess while
another might excel in underwater basket weaving. I think my greatest strength is imagination. I
love to be creative. This quality of mine developed when my parents gave me Legos. I would
spend time building towers or ships while other kids would play with their hot wheels and tech
decks. As I grew older I received Lego sets that would range from 1000 to 2500 pieces. Legos
enabled me to become more creative.

As well as strengths, beliefs differ from person to person. I believe in hard work. No
matter what the task may be, through hard work anything is possible. I remember when I did
track in high school. I wasnt the fastest kid on the team but I put in the effort everyday in
practice, whether it be running the extra lap or staying a minute longer in the ice baths, I would
work hard to get better. Another instance when I used hard work to achieve my goal was the
S.A.T.

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I would work sixteen hours every weekend, doing practice test after practice test. In the
end, the results showed my hard work. I received a 2020 on my S.A.T and I scored in every
single track meet. Hard work may seem hard at first, but by staying consistent anything is
possible.
Through out this class I was able to define my strengths. I learned I am a compassionate
individual who likes to take care of others. In a way, I see how this is true. When ever I am with
a group of people I make sure everyone is having a good time and make sure everyone is safe. I
listen to other people when they have any troubles and give them advice. I like being there for
other people and seeing them smile when ever I help them.

Upon writing this essay, I have discovered what my strengths and weaknesses are. I
learned how much other people influence me whether it be positive or negative. I need to learn to
become my own man and by able to work on my weaknesses and reinforce my strengths.