Description: The article is about gcu student portal. The author tells us about her family. She gives stories on how her father and mother help her go through the hard times in her life and what she learned from her parents. She learns that responsibility isn’t everything and one still needs rest in his life.
My name is Bridget Santa Stephen. I’m giving this speech for my communications 100 course at Grand Canyon University. On Christmas Day 1994,I was born to David and Victoria. I became their fourth daughter. When I was 2,my father was injured at work which giving him the choice to change careers or to stay at home with his children. Though gender perception made this a difficult choice for my father,he chose to put aside his notions of status and money as his measurements of success and put all of his effort into raising his five children.
My mother continued to work in the tech field and go on frequent business trips anywhere from 2 days to 2 months. Through her dedication to her career she taught us about the importance of responsibility. My father taught us about balancing fun and everyday life. These lessons became even more apparent as I grew older.
My mother and I share something that no one else in my family does. In 2015,we were both diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease. It is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid. This causes a long list of symptoms. But the most common are weight gain,insomnia,shortness of breath and mood swings and fatigue. I was diagnosed at the age of 20. Though my doctors believed I’ve suffered from the disorder since around the age of thirteen. My mother also had the disorder for around 10 years before her diagnosis.
In high school,I suffered from the typical symptoms of being a teenager,peer pressure,negative self perception and trauma as well as a constant exhaustion caused by a thyroid that I decided to stop working. I also decided that success was not only measured by how well you interacted with others which is typical of the female gender perception but also measured by how much you accomplished. So I joined National Honor Society,played basketball as a year-round athletic trainer and volunteered through various campus and church groups and took advanced classes that had me doing homework till 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning.
When life became too much the symptoms of hypothyroidism and teenagerism threatened to crush me under their weight. I went to my parents for help. The lessons they taught me during those years have maintained themselves in the way I handle responsibilities now. My father who has always been about balance happily let me first skip my first class or the whole day if I need extra rest. He would talk to the school,make me breakfast,pack me lunch for whenever I decided to go to class.
On other days I would text him from the school bathroom and he would email the school to let me leave campus. He truly put my mental health above everything else and he taught me to do the same. My mother had a different approach. She would tell me that part of life is being tired but part of being a cash-in is not letting anyone see how exhausted you truly are. My mother and I perceived success in the same way. An appearance the way that others perceive on you is everything. So I maintained my long list of responsibilities with a smile on my face,a coffee in hand and assurance to anyone who asks that everything was no problem.
Some days I still struggle against the weight of exhaustion. I still struggle with my own self-perception and I still fight to find balance. I had a battle my way out of each of these issues,working hard on myself to be the responsible person I am today. Some days I still need the extra rest to lay in bed and put off the tasks of the day,some days I still fight with myself over my measurement success and some days I have to put my best face on and tell everyone that everything is no problem.
My parents words make finding balance and being responsible easy in most days but I developed a mantra for the days when their words want to send enough. Frequently YAGE is written on my arm as a reminder that life is not only responsibilities,that success is not only measured by the accomplishments of big goals. That being tired is available but moving forward is the only option. YAGE hits me through those hard days. what does it mean? It means you are good enough.