Artis-Hampton 1

Celena Artis-Hampton
Deby Jizi
UWRIT 1101
2 October 2015
Self-Authorship Essay Draft
Often you ask yourself, Who am I? and Why am I here? As you grow through
life, you figure out those aspects and probably become someone even better than you thought
you would ever be. When I look at my younger self, I see a friendly and very active kid. I used to
love playing outside and making so many new friends. When I was around 5 or 6, I had this park
I used to go to all the time and hang upside down from the monkey bars. I learned how to swing
and ride a bike at the park so it is a really meaningful memory for me. My Papa taught me how
to do all those things because my mommy was working and my dad wasnt really there. Now I
know no one can remember things from when they were 1 years old, but I have a picture of me
in my papas hat tearing up some eggs and smiling. From that picture, I can observe me being a
goofy baby and happy all the time. From what my mommy and grandparents say, I was that baby
and they miss that. I am 18 years old now, I would say I still have those aspects of being goofy
and happy most of the time, but sometimes a bad attitude will show. Overall I am a really nice
and caring person, who has an open heart for everyone no matter who they are. That is one of the
characteristics I have that steer me to my future occupation, which is a nurse. I am a UNC
Charlotte student because they have one of the best nursing programs in North Carolina and if it
wasnt for that I wouldnt be here now. I am excited for what the future holds because who I am
now can be someone even better and more educated. Thats all I have to say for who I am.

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I have many core values, but the one that means the most to me is self-respect.
This means the most to me because from my personal experience, you need to have that to get
treated with respect from everyone. This value originated from situations that have happened
through my life. One situation it mainly developed from is when I was a freshman in high
school, I was labeled a lot of harsh names like hoe, slut, etc. I was called those names because I
had a boyfriend who had spread harsh rumors about me. As that was happening, I didnt really
stand up for myself and I didnt walk around with confidence. It took my best friend to
recommend me to a counselor to understand what self-respect is and how it would help these
rumors to stop from spreading. It took a lot for me to understand how to portray self-respect and
what it really does for a person. As a year went on, it was really helpful to me to obtain this value
because people stopped with the rumors and came at me respectfully. Having that confidence in
yourself no matter what you did in the past is important because if we all let the past affect us in
a negative way this would be one unhappy world. Self- respect really changed me as a person
and I am happy that it did in a positive way. I will always have that core value no matter what.
For some reason, I hate more things then I love. It doesnt make me a bad person;
I think it just makes me a very particular person. Since I hate more things than I love, I am going
to share my top aspect that I hate, which are funerals. I hate funerals because it is such an
emotional experience and it weighs heavy on your heart. I have been to about 4 funerals, but the
last one I went to was really a good memory because it just happened 10 months ago. Even
though this is a negative experience, it affected my development in a positive way. The last
funeral I went to was my guy best friend and how I found out was so heart breaking because it
was the first time I lost someone that I saw every day. It was towards the end of thanksgiving
break, when I got a phone call from a guy friend Sunday morning. He told me that my guy best

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friend got in a car accident and didnt make it. My first reaction was, He has to be lying because
I just talked to him last night. He kept saying he was serious and it took me to look it up on the
internet to believe him and that is when I broke down in tears. I was in New York at the time so
lets just say the trip back was not enjoyable. I didnt go to school the next day because it
wouldve been a waste of time because I wouldve cried the whole day. The day of the funeral
was probably the hardest moment of my life because I didnt want cry in front of a bunch of
people. Once one person started crying it was like a crying fest in the church because thats all
you heard. After the funeral I was probably in a depressed state for a month. After I finally
accepted his death, it opened my eyes to how short life really is. One day you can wake up and
not see the person you care about anymore. This experience has developed me into a more open
minded person because life is too short to not take chances and live to the fullest. I appreciate
every day I live and I live it to the fullest not caring what anyone thinks because thats exactly
how my guy best friend lived.
Many adults have influenced my life in an uplifting way, but one adult that really
stands out is, Mrs. Scott. I was sixteen years old when I had Mrs. Scott as my physical science
teacher and she was the sweetest teacher I have ever had. My sophomore year in high school was
the year I went through a lot, which can affect behavior. Lets just say I got caught up in the
wrong crowd because that time in my life is when I had to decide to either grow up or fool
around in class. One day she pulled me aside to tell me that she sees a lot of potential in me to go
far in life and not to get caught up in the wrong crowd. I know that sounds very basic, but I took
that one saying and went far with it because it was something I needed to hear. I am a very smart
young lady that does not need to end up in the wrong crowd because I have too much going for
myself. Ever since she had that talk with me, I straightened up and started taking higher classes

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and making good grades. She is the reason why I am here today because I did contemplate
dropping out, but obviously I didnt go through with it.
I have many character strengths, but my top one is hope in the future, which is
another word for optimistic. Honestly through my middle school and early high school years I
wasnt really optimistic. I was more of a Debby downer. I always thought the worst and was a
very negative person. When my mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis my sophomore
year of high school, it was the turning point of my life. I had to be strong for my mommy
because I felt like it was my place since Im all she has. At that moment I turned to god and
started having more hope in the future. I wanted to have a positive outlook for my mom and
transfer that positive energy to her because it was probably one of the hardest times in her life.
Its ironic how things happen in life because one event can change your whole mindset. Ever
since I went through that I have been such a positive person and it brought me and my mommy
closer.
I believe in many aspects, but one belief I feel strongly about is that racism will
always be around. I developed this belief from what I see every day on the news or from what I
see from my own eyes. No one really steered me in this direction, it was my own curiosity. I
believe in this statement because its been around for many decades and the root of it all has still
not been fixed. Im not going to get too deep in this subject because it is sensitive, but maybe one
day race will not matter to anyone. As of now thats what everyone seems to care about, which is
quite sad.
Throughout this paper I have written many aspects about me, that have made me
look at myself even more. I have learned that I have many strong feelings about certain aspects

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in my life and that I am a strong young lady for still keeping my head up even though Ive been
through some harsh moments. Through this process of writing about myself, I can take away a
lot. One main thing I am going to take away from this process is realizing that I have so much
more room to grow as a person and that this chapter in my life is only the beginning of
something new. I am ready to take life head on and face many challenges. This paper was an eye
opener to what I have done and I am glad I went through this process.

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Peer Review by Anthony Lott

Feelings:
1. Angry
2. Disappointed
3. Sorrowful
4. Humorous
5. Strong
6. Helpless
7. Dreary
8. Complacent
9. Mournful
10. Irate
Questions:
1. In what ways were you more pessimistic in your middle school and early high school
years?
2. Did any other influences create you into more of an optimist?
3. Can you elaborate on how you were caught up in the wrong crowd? Do you have any
stories as to how you acted a fool in class? How do you think the teacher knew you
were a part of a bad crowd?
4. Do you have any other things that you hate? What caused you to hate more things
than you love? Would hate be a useful word in this context or dislike?
5. Do you have any friends that have influenced you in a positive way?

Writer: Celena Artis-Hampton

Reader: Alec Privette

Three Step Responses
1. Velcro words and phrases: mommy, goofy, harsh names like hoe,
slut, ect., I hate more things than I love, it opened my eyes to
how short life really is. One day you can wake up and not see the
person you care about anymore.
2. Feelings: Sympathy, Amazement

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3. Questions: Why is it that people called you those bad names?
What was the cause of your friends car accident?