In my personal branding class, we’ve spent the last two days sharing our life stories and how that’s affected the person we’ve become as well as how we want it to affect our future. I haven’t gone yet, so I thought I would do a little practice run here to get my thoughts out. I’m better at writing than speaking any day, so this should be a helpful exercise.
my life story
As the second oldest of seven children, in a fairly stable household, my early childhood was awesome. I played all the time and used to write stories about horses and Pokemon. I ride horses, that’s an important fact about me. It’s one of my favorite things.
Another one of my favorite things is community… I guess it’s because I came from a huge, wild family, but I love to be around people I know and love. I’m unbearably uncomfortable when I’m stuck somewhere and I don’t know anyone, unless I have the opportunity to meet them and connect. Interaction energizes me, but more than that, community does.
school
When I started going to school, I realized I wasn’t as good at social interaction as I thought. My family is weird and loud, but other people’s families aren’t and it freaked them out when I acted certain ways. I can remember as far back as preschool being excluded from social groups.
In early elementary school I befriended a girl who was really tough and bossy, so I was happy at school. She protected me and I put up with her bossiness. It worked out pretty good. But then in the third grade my parents decided to enroll my siblings and me in a private Christian school. I was really excited about it, but I didn’t realize what a difference it would make switching to a tiny school. There were only about 15 kids in my grade, and they had for the most part all been there since preschool, so they didn’t take kindly to new additions. Plus I was weird. I didn’t like being girly and I wasn’t athletic, so I didn’t have a place to fit in. I also didn’t care about fitting the mold… I was a hipster in elementary school. But it did bother me that no one wanted to be my friend, because I craved community. I made a best friend in my neighborhood, and I still occasionally saw my old best friend. So that helped. But the real way I survived bullying and exclusion in elementary school was through my relationship with God.
By the time I got to middle school there were other newer kids in our class and people had gotten used to me, so much of the bullying stopped. My classmates were still mean, but it was mostly in the you’re-my-friend-so-I-can-make-fun-of-you way. Which I still hate, but it was definitely an improvement. I also became really close with a newer girl, and she remained my best friend through middle and high school.
faith
My parents are both Christians, and I grew up going to church, but they were both fairly new believers when I was young–without much discipling–so we didn’t really talk about God at home. But still I had exposure to the gospel pretty regularly from a young age. One summer, when I was 8 or 9 years old, I went to Vacation Bible School at my church. I’ve always loved music, so the songs I learned that week stuck with me after it was over. One of the songs was called the “ABCs of Salvation” and it was sort of a kid-friendly, musical version of 1 John 1:9 and Romans 10:9.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
“…because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Well at some point during the summer after VBS, I was singing that song to myself and it dawned on me for the first time that I really did believe in the gospel: that I was broken by sin, and I needed Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection from the dead to restore me to fellowship with God. So I told my parents I wanted to be baptized, and I have been slowly, clumsily and joyfully following Christ ever since.
Adults coming to faith usually struggle with the belief that Jesus was really the son of God, really lived a perfect life and really rose from the grave after his crucifixion. For a child, that’s not so farfetched. What was hard for me was learning to be obedient to his will in things like kindness, selflessness, respect for authority, gentleness. I still struggle with that stuff. But as I studied the Bible and prayed more and more, I saw the Lord working in my life, changing my heart a little each day. It was frustrating at times (and still is!) that sanctification isn’t a quick process, but it was so rewarding to see the fruits of faithfulness in my life.
Anyway, like I said, that’s the real reason I survived elementary school with a smile. I went through a lot in those years and I was pretty lonely at school. But I had a Helper who never let me down, who helped me keep my life in perspective even as a kid and showered me with more grace than I ever deserved. He still does that now.
college
I always said I was going to go to a small college because I loved my little Christian school, and with my history of difficulty fitting in, I had no interest in going somewhere I knew I would be surrounded by thousands of people who were vastly different from me. But private schools are expensive and UNC is a great school, so I ended up choosing it. I was extremely blessed by having a good roommate my freshman year; we became really good friends and stayed roommates for three years until she graduated.
When I first came to school I thought I wanted to be an anthropology major, but I didn’t really know what anthropology was. It didn’t take long for me to become a Classics major instead. I am crazy about ancient history and languages of all kinds so it was pretty much perfect for me. But about halfway through my sophomore year I realized I wanted a job when I graduated, and I didn’t want to go to grad school or be a teacher. So I changed my major to a minor and joined the J-school. I’ve always loved creative writing, and I figured advertising was an industry that would allow me to do that for a living. We’ll see how that works out.
future
When I graduate I plan to serve as an overseas missionary for at least two years. I’ve always been passionate about languages and travelling, and I’m just as passionate about sharing my faith because–backwards as it sounds–telling people they’re so bad they need a savior is the best way I know how to love them. The gospel is offensive, but it is necessary. As my pastor says,
“Our sin is so bad Christ had to die for us, but he is so loving he was happy to do it. We are way more evil than we ever dared think, but way more loved than we could ever imagine.”
So I’m going to go and make disciples.
I’m considering, in the more distant future, going to portfolio school for copywriting or art direction. But I’m also happy taking life one step at a time!
