My Fluid Identity

Imagine attending Vacation Bible School every summer only to have a Bat Mitzvah when you turn thirteen. These contrasting ways of life are my normal. My mom, born in 1957, was raised in a small town in northern Minnesota. My dad, on the other hand, was born in 1938 in what is now Israel. While my mom grew up as a devout Christian living a typical suburban life in the Midwest, my dad grew up speaking Hebrew, practicing Judaism, and hiding in bomb shelters during World War II. This might explain why it’s been an ongoing process to figure out who I am and what’s really important to me, however over the last few years I have begun to understand my fluid identity. I consider myself a bit of a chameleon. I have a lot of interests, ranging from competitive tennis to orchestra to international community service.
Normally unsure of being alone, I was content just grabbing a book in my free time and relaxing in Central Park by myself. Not even getting miserably lost on a bike ride could stop me from wanting to continue to put myself in new unfamiliar situations. I now look forward to moving on from the comfortable atmosphere of my small high school and leaving my twin sister behind to form my own identity independently in college. What I have also discovered about myself is that I’m interested, and I mean really interested, in a myriad of things ranging from marketing to kinesiology to dermatology. I think this is because I know I could be happy and fulfilled doing a lot of different things. Throughout my childhood, I have been equally engaged in contrasting activities like learning how to fish on Leech Lake in Minnesota and learning about the harsh realities of the war my dad faced as a child. Although I am knowledgeable about the values my parents and community have instilled in me, I am eager to expand my