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Kristin (Me), , Link Title, Rationale: I focused on 6 sections of my…
Kristin (Me)
Family 
Mom
My Mom is the most similar to me out of everyone in the family. If I have a serious problem she's the one I go to first because she's an excellent listener. I've always considered my mom a pro-mom because she seems to be prepared for any situation and always knows the right things to say. We're both big planners and we love spending time with ourselves as much as other people.
Dad
My dad is big on tradition and has a very strong work ethic. He's a family man with the desire to get something valuable out of any vacation or experience. He's similar to Emily because they both have a stubborn spirit with lost of passion behind their views. My dad taught me to be resilient and to always fight for the things I want.
Siblings
Emily
Emily is my older sister and me and her have opposite personalities. She's stubborn, outspoken, and a bit bossy while I'm more reserved and easy going. We fought a lot as kids and living with her taught me how to be patient.
Lucy
Lucy is my younger sister and we have a 8 year age gap. My relationship with her was more maternal due to this age gap but now as she's getting older I can relate to her more on a sister-level. Taking care of Lucy when she was little definitely helped grow my maturity.
Birth order
I'm the middle child and I feel like that has been a huge part of developing my identity. While I'm not the typical "problem child" of the family, being in the middle has definitely put me in a diplomatic role. I learned how to keep the peace especially with my dad and Emily who are always arguing. Being in the middle also made me feel on the outs sometimes especially because my two sisters are closer to each other than me. On the bright side it's made me more independent and confident in my abilities.
Culture
Religion
My parents both grew up in strict catholic households and have raised me and my sisters the same way. I don't necessary agree with some catholic views, especially concerning the LGBTQ+ community, so I'm in a bit of a transition point spiritually. I believe in God but for now I'm taking time to reflect on how I want to practice this belief and what kind of religion I want to identify with.
Cuban :
Both my parents are Cuban, my mom an immigrant and my dad a first generation American. My family has always been very proud of this but growing up I felt like I needed to suppress some of my culture to fit in at school. I have very light skin and I don't necessary look Latina so it was easy to embrace the Americanness in my Cuban American heritage.
Northern VA
The suburban culture of northern Virginia has definitely shaped my identity. Being 30 minutes away from DC allowed me to experience city life while still have safe suburbia to retreat to. The culture in northern VA is very much involved with the government and politics which has honestly made me exhausted by them. I don't enjoy political debates or campaigns, and I resent that type of talk at barbeques or in school.
Place
Springfield, VA
My neighborhood in Springfield is very tight knit and all the neighborhood kids know each other well. Growing up I would spend most my time outside playing games with them and messing around. Going outside so frequently along with playing different games made me love being active and enhanced my competitiveness for sports.
Harrisonburg, VA
I've never really lived in a small city like Harrisonburg so coming to JMU was a big culture shock. I'm used to a lot more diversity at my high school and it's hard being away from family. However, I've met such amazing friends here that have impacted me in many different ways. Additionally I had to deal with a lot of unforeseen problems which improved my resilience.
Miami
I visit my family in Miami 2 times every year for about 3 weeks each time. The Miami culture always makes me feel more connected with my Cuban roots and it much more wild than Northern VA. I see Miami as my second home and I love the fast paced excitement of the city.
Friends
Highschool Friends
Amanda
Amanda is a very loyal and passionate person. She's extremely easy to talk to and helped me be more comfortable being vulnerable (a skill I need to improve).
JMU Friends
Sophie
Sophie is super kind and extremely unfiltered. We've had deep talks where I literally change my entire perspective of myself because of the way we dissect a situation. She taught me to be honest with myself always.
Andrew
Andrew
Andrew is very good at seeing the bright side of things and he's a very thoughtful guy. He's made me realize that I shouldn't change for other people.
Julia
Julia is a great friend and a very creative person. She reminds me to be a good friend and to not take things too seriously.
Childhood Friends
Sydney :
I met Sydney in preschool and we became neighbors shortly after. We've been best friends for 15 years and we balance each other out perfectly. She's more type B while I'm a type A person but she pushes me to be brave and go outside my comfort zone. At times we argue, especially as roommates but without Sydney I don't think I would have the same joy for life. She's like my sister and I know we will always be friends.
Hobbies
Sports
Field Hockey
I started field hockey in middle school after my soccer coach aid I would be good at it. It allowed me to still keep my athletic identity while doing something I love. I made so many friends playing this sport and I still play for the club team at JMU. Field hockey greatly improved my teamwork skills and gave me an outlet to forget about any problems.
Soccer
I started soccer when I was 6 years old and it was the activity a lot of my family and friends knew me by. It's because of soccer that I considered myself an athlete and developed a liking for being part of something bigger than myself. I quit soccer in 9th grade after I was benched for the whole year on the high school team. It was one of the hardest decisions of my life but I simply didn't enjoy it anymore. After I quit I threw myself into field hockey.
Food
Ever since I was a kid I've had a passion for food. I was known as the kid who was always hungry and never got full. Even though I still loved food this notion complicated my relationship with meals later on and pressured me to eat as much as I could. My relationship with food now is much better and cooking has become a creative outlet for me after a long school day.
DECA
DECA is a marketing club I joined in high school that pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was very shy before joining but competing at a DECA business competition inspired me to be more bold and do things I had never done before. I became part of the leadership team and got comfortable hosting large events and meeting new people.
Career
Business
Audit Job
This was the 9-5 I worked this summer, I despised it. Everyday I worked on auditing and bookkeeping and stared at numbers for 8 hours straight. Even though I hate it, the job made me realize I crave a dynamic work environment, and enjoy change.
Event Manager/Director
For my girl scout gold award I planned and hosted a 4 day field hockey camp for girls in an underprivileged community. This project mad me realize that I love managing things and coaching field hockey. I learned so many leadership skills and the experience even inspired me to look into event management as a career.
Vet Job
This was my first real job an not an easy one. The work environment was a bit toxic and my job consisted of picking up dog poop and cleaning kennels. However, I had a lot of time to contemplate about my life when I walked the dogs. Sometimes I would be out there for hours, and I thoroughly enjoyed having a break from my high school life to reflect.
Technology
Social Media
Instagram
When I post on Instagram I feel in some ways it's just like a performance. I try my best to be authentic but I don't believe a picture can really capture the entirety of who people are. It doesn't really matter what I post, every time I feel like I'm showing off the good parts of my life and hiding the bad. I feel like that bad parts are necessary to show in order to understand people but those parts are rarely shown.
Snapchat
Snapchat is meant for more personal interaction than Instagram and I used to be completely obsessed. That was the main communication with my friends until quarantine when I deleted it. I felt exhausted by the constant snaps and meaningless texts so I decided to get rid of it and text people instead. Snap chat taught me that the best conversations are had in person because that's where you can be the most authentic.
Phone
I got a phone in 9th grade which is pretty late for Gen-z standards. I felt strange for not knowing proper text lingo so I was pretty shy in group chats for fear of messing something up. I still feel somewhat of a grandma with technology ad phones but I'm more comfortable expressing myself on a digital platform
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Rationale: I focused on 6 sections of my identity; Place, family, friends, technology, hobbies, and career. I choose similar colors (but not exactly the same) for friends and hobbies because I made a lot of friends through those hobbies yet I still hang out with them outside those activities. The Green career line intersects the Springfield VA line because that's where I held all those job positions. Instead of putting my mom and dad on a "parents" branch similar to the "siblings" branch I separated them because they've affected me in very different or almost opposite ways. I chose the same color for place and family because they are very interconnected and even going to Harrisonburg for school was a family decision.