1. How would you describe yourself?

I would simply describe myself as an ordinary girl who has one major goal from the beginning
that she won’t stop until she achieves. Adventurous – I am eager to try new experiences and
live my life to the fullest. And as for myself the characteristics that made me who I am are
somewhat confusing to tell because every single day I seem to exhibit different kinds of
personalities which are not consistent, but the most are these: patient, hardworking, fun to be
with, talks a lot, good organizer, knows when to have fun and when to be serious, intuitive and
a very positive person. Also, I am passionate and determined, because I love what I do, I have a
steady source of motivation and a strong support system that drives me to do my very best. I
am very ambitious and goal-oriented person, I love dreaming and used to imagine some future
setting and my personality revolves around my goals. I really thrive on challenges and
constantly set goals for myself, so I have something to strive hard and to be motivated to just
keep on going. I am efficient and highly organized, I always take down notes, and create an
organize filing method in keeping all my stuffs at home so that I will be able to find what I need.
Lastly, I love making people feel comfortable and happy and I love throwing some jokes when I
am with them.

2. What are the influences of family in your development as an individual?

Family plays a big role in determining who a child becomes. Once the child was born, a process
of development starts within the family through observing on what family members are doing,
their learning habits, values and even the language spoken inside of the house. My family
influences me on how to proper maintain my physical health as well as my mental health too. In
fact, they are still guiding me in making healthy choices and decisions in life. They also taught
me on how to share good things in life, play and to have fun, explore more, and to trust others
as well.
I leave this quote in addition to my answer above, “The way we see ourselves, other, and the
world, were shaped in the setting of our family of origin. The views we develop were there, stay
with us throughout our life.”
 3. Think of a time when you felt you were your “true self”. What made you think you
were truly who you are during this time of your life?
It happens every time I watch cartoons, people around me esp. my family usually notice that
I’m into watching cartoons whenever I get time, and most of them say that it is not appropriate
for me to watch cartoons at this age (because I am already 18). The truth is that I watch
cartoons so that I have an entertainment, also it is somewhat a relief from stress and the best
way in avoiding stress from everyday life. We all know that laughter has always been good at
breaking up stress. And from this, I am truly sure that I am just showing another side of me, and
it made me felt that I am just living my ‘true self’.
At last, this kind of question made me think that knowing your true self is like embracing
yourself even more, and for us to live our true selves, then make sure that it can be clearly seen
through our actions.

4. Following the questions above, can you provide a time when you felt you were not
living your “true self”? Why did you have to live a life like that? What did you
about it?
Before choosing what to pursue in college, I have this confusion. I’m stuck between choosing
engineering program and to any course under Natural Sciences. I even ask for my family and
friends’ advices so that I may be able to come up with different choices regarding this. They
want me to pursue Engineering because for them it really matches my ability and skills. The
thinking of high salaries and good opportunities that awaits me after graduating from
Engineering made me think twice in choosing. And with that, I came up to an idea of
considering my interest in choosing what I really love to pursue, and If I am going to choose the
course that I am not into with, then it is no longer me living my true self because the interest
wasn’t there anymore.
I have realized from that moment that I should follow what my heart really wants, not what
other people want us to become. Yes, it is true that sometimes we need other people’s advice,
but it is still in our hands the decision and the final choice.
The clearer I recognize who I do not want to be, the clearer the sense of identity and purpose
will be.

5. What social pressures help shape yourself? Would you have wanted it otherwise?

Societal pressures are the expectations that can affect the entire community. Social pressures
are the combined pressures that are around us during our everyday lives such as peer pressure,
academic pressure, and such. But for me, family is the most influential in terms of shaping my
true identity and personality. They were there ever since I started conquering the world. Based
on what I have read, social pressure comes from within and it is only a product of our thinking
and beliefs about such thing.
No. not at all. I have realized that there was no really a thing like ‘social pressure’ in life, and the
only person I was in a fight with was only myself – dealing with my own thinking and problems
in life.

6. What aspects of your self do you think may be changed or you would like to change?
The aspect of myself that I want to change is more on related to my emotional self. I am very
dramatic in terms of reacting, I easily get emotional esp. when I’m on the edge of giving up and
when my problems in life are starting eating me up. I couldn’t even express freely what I really
feel. Nonetheless, I actually don’t want to change anything. For me, the most important part of
our personal development is by accepting who we really are and embracing all aspects of
ourselves. Of course, there will be always a room for our improvement. For now, my ultimate
goal is to become the bravest version of myself – physically, mentally, and spiritually. Every day,
I always do at least one thing to move me toward my ultimate goal. I am always telling myself
“To improve, be that someone better, but still remain being you.”