Personal Journey Essay

2187 Words9 Pages
My Personal Journey Journeys are moments in life that define and reconstruct the myths we create about ourselves and others. All too often the ideals of a biased community or select group are viewed as the model by which all individuals must follow. To escape the pressures of a collective standard a person must travel outside the constraints of a community and discover his or her own true identity. On such a journey one can expect moments of planned reflection or unexpected instances of revelation. A journey is every minute of my existence, as I travel through life and try to ascertain my own presence in its cycle. An essential journey occurred in 1995, my junior year of high school, when I was raped by a classmate. After a terrible situation reporting to the police and really processing what had happened to me, I felt even more confused and scared. I was seventeen years old; unsure of myself, unsure of whom I wanted to be, unsure of what I stood for. I was on the tail end of my identity versus role confusion stage (Hader 2009). According to Erikson, this stage was roughly ages 13 to 18 but after my rape, I know I had some issues with my own identity for quite a while. I became withdrawn, angry, and pessimistic but also head strong and determined. I think I remained the same person overall but I developed a more sinister, negative attitude toward life. My journey through life has not been defined by my rape but rather my life has been enhanced by my rape. I used to believe it was a traumatic event but after many years of experience and realizing my own transcendence, I now believe my rape was a big turning point in my life. It is where the old Michele and the new Michele learned to merge and love one another. I hope you will enjoy the journey through my life and events as I like to compare it to a raging river rapids course; there

More about Personal Journey Essay

Open Document