My Cultural Diorama

If you had to pick 3 things from your home that represent your background, traditions, and daily activities, What would you pick?  That was my assignment for a class I'm taking.  First I had to pick a "label" that would synthesize who I am.  Then pick 3 objects, and write a little bit about how each artifact represents who I am.  This is what I came up with:

Religious, Goal-Setting Naturalist from a close-knit family

Count Your Blessings- My beliefs about spiritual matters are the foundation of who I am.  They inform my actions and set the framework for my life.  Inherent in those beliefs is the virtue of gratitude. I don’t believe in Luck, I believe in Blessings.  Recognizing the source of those blessings, my loving Heavenly Father, keeps me humble and focused on the positives of life.  I keep this poster front and center in my room as a reminder that even when life doesn't seem so great, there's a blessing somewhere... I just have to open my eyes and heart and I'll find it!

Binoculars- I am a naturalist.  Naturalists study plants, animals and all things in the natural world mostly by observation rather than experimental methods.  I believe it to be a way to approach and view life.  I’m always looking for connections, trying to figure out why things (mostly in the natural world) are the way they are.  I want to know their names, why they live where they do, and watch their interactions with other organisms and their environment.  Binoculars and field guides are my tools; I don’t leave home without them.  This approach to life has also influenced how I interact with people.  I'm curious to know their names and what makes them unique- we all have something.

30 B4 30- Some of my earliest memories involve “job charts.”  Watching those tiny squares fill up with stickers brought me much satisfaction.  I was taught to decide what you want, and who you want to be then chart a course to reach those goals.  If you don’t make it the first time, keep trying until you do. I’m constantly negotiating new goals and path to achieve them.  I decided to set 30 goals to accomplish before I turned 30.  For that year I focused on these goals.  They ranged from doing a sprint triathlon to reading all 4 Standard Works. My aim is to always be progressing, to be improving myself.  Life is to be lived on purpose, with a purpose!