"Wild" Blog Entries Chapters 6 and 7

Chapter 6:
   If I had to choose a word that would replace my last name that matches my identity, similar to Cheryl Strayed,  I would choose "Unbroken". As overdramatic as this sounds, I have been through a lot. I have struggled with self-esteem issues, have been bullied for a good portion of my young life, and have struggled with mental health issues. Instead of letting all of these things change me, they have instead helped to shape who I am as a person. I have learned to be more kind and accepting towards others, because one never knows exactly what another person is going through. I have learned just how important mental health truly is, and the stigmas that go along with it. And, I have learned that the words and opinions of others mean nothing to me in the long run. All of these things have made me who I am today. My identity has been shaped by my experiences, because I have grown to understand a lot of things about myself that I would not have known if I hadn't ever had anything bad happen to me. I would have never realized just how strong I actually am. Therefore, I would choose the last name "Unbroken", because the things that I have experienced that would break the average person did not break me in the end; they only made me stronger.

Chapter 7:
   Since the start of high school, I have become a lot of different "people". I have a different version of myself around the different groups of people in my life. I try not to make them too different than who I really am, but sometimes there are significant differences. The person I am in a classroom environment, for example, is normally very quiet and doesn't speak very often unless I am completely comfortable with the teacher and the people around me. The person I am around my family is polite, but cheerier than I am in school and more willing to talk. However, I am still reserved and not really that loud around my family members. The person I am in choir, band, and drama is closer to who I really am; I am louder and more energetic, I crack jokes, and am more of a participant in my environment, I interact more with others, and it allows me to be more creative. The person that I am around my friends and my boyfriend is the closest to my true personality. I'm social, I talk a lot, I'm loud, I dance, but at the same time, if I feel like I'm not involved in the conversation, I can be very quiet. Lastly, the person that I truly am, when I am alone, is loud, creative, reflective, bookish, emotionally attached to fictional characters, and more relaxed.
   I think that it is okay for people to be more than one "person" at this age; we are still trying to find out exactly who we are and where we fit in this world. If I was the same person around my family as I was around my friends, family dinners and holidays would be a lot weirder. If my school persona was the same as my theater and choir and band persona, I wouldn't exactly "fit in", because in order to make music and art you have to have a pretty loud voice. However, I believe that as time passes and I grow older, I will begin to have less and less personalities. I won't be surrounded by as many people as I age. My family and friends personas will remain, and my true personality obviously will, but my other personas may fade away or muddle together. I don't think anyone could ever be just one "person"; we would never get anywhere in life. How hard would it be to get a job if you were always loud and singing showtunes, like I usually am?
   The impact of this passage is to show that, through Strayed's journey, the different versions of her self have faded away, and now, since she is completely alone, only her true self remains. This trip has made her see who she truly is, not who she has constantly pretended to be.