Chapman University, Cru, pups, food and Disneyland. It’s easy to see where I find myself in each photo, to reminisce on the time spent with each person or in each place and how I am continuously shaped by these memories.
However, my weeks don’t always look this pretty. I spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer, working diligently while writing essays or creating surveys. I rarely have the time to visit Disneyland despite a monthly payment for an annual pass, and I only visit home once every few weeks to lay in the entryway while my dog happily licks my face.
But each week, despite the monotony of routine, I am influenced by my values and experiences. I move and shift accordingly, and while all undergraduate students attend classes, I do so in the hopes of moving toward a Master’s degree. While most young men and women have somewhere they can call home, I call my aunt and uncle’s house home, with their adoption of my Yorkshire terrier-Poodle mix a welcome addition to the family. And while everyone must consider food as a necessary part of their day, I carefully avoid dairy and nightshade vegetables to combat any adverse reactions to what I am eating.
There is meaning in the small, in the seemingly insignificant, in the mundane. The meaning comes from me, and shines through me, and is me.
A Composition of Self by Alexis Rivera 