Who I Am

Hi my name is Claire and I gave talk #1, who am I. This was my 4th time at a Teens Encounter Christ weekend. TEC is a wonderful, safe and open place where there are no judgments and you can be whoever you are. Everyone at TEC is very inclusive and you get the chance to make a lot of new friends. Everyone is unique and has their own story of who they believe they are: this is my story.

I am a part of the world in that I am part of a family, student, member of a church, volunteer, and friend. Who I am today and who I will become are impacted by my values and experiences.

My family is not the typical family. My parents are most likely the age of your grandparents and my oldest siblings are closer to the age of your parents. I was adopted at 15 months from China when my mom was 45 and my dad was 53. I have an older sister, Leigha, and brother, Donny, from my dad’s previous marriage who were 18 and 21. I also have a sister, Sara, which my mother had from a previous relationship that was 3. My family has not and will not be the societal norm. My parents have since divorced. Sara has gone off to college. Donny, my brother has a 3-year-old daughter, Katherine who lives with us about a third of the time. She’s of African descent making this a very diverse home with no genetic relation whatsoever also we share this home with two different species, a dog and a cat. I see my dad every morning when he drives me to school and brings me breakfast. My siblings come and visit when they get the chance. Even though I don’t share genes with anyone of them we are a family. We love each other, we take care of each other, and we have each other’s backs.

In regards to being a student I am a sophomore going to RAHS. I have been taking pre-ap classes in English and math since 7th grade. Those are the 2 classes that my grades have fluctuated in but other than those I usually achieve an A. I study and do my homework, putting in as much effort as I can to keep my grades up. I get along with the teachers and for the most part the other students. I have friends that I eat lunch with and I usually have a friend in every class but they aren’t a distraction to me. When I am at school, learning is my main focus. School isn’t where I devote my extra time. Church is.

Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church, which is the place where I go every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. I attend the 9 am service where the music is more modern and everything just seems more upbeat. I go to youth group on Wednesday evenings, which is a place where we go and have fun talking about social issues or anything really and go to awesome events. I love how that church has become my second home. Everyone is so kind, thoughtful, compassionate, and hospitable and so much more. If I have a problem or I just need someone to talk to. I see the many people I talk to as my spiritual guides. They help get me through life’s bumpy ride. The church has always been welcoming and enjoyable; in return I do what I can to help out.

I volunteer as a way to give back to the community. I help out in special church services, greeting, helping in the nursery and whoever else needs it. I teach Sunday school and run events that my church does with our partnered senior home.

When I’m not at school or church I am usually with my friends. I was lucky enough to have met my 3 best friends at a young age. Sophia was one of my friends; our mothers had met in baptism classes with our older sisters, so our sisters became best friends so it was inevitable that we to would become best friends also. Georgia, I had met in preschool. I was about 4 years old and she was 3. I decided right then and there at 4 years old that I wanted her to become one of my closest friends so I took her hand, which was holding on very tightly to her mom, and I brought her over to color with me. Then on we were glued together and we have been best friends ever since. The third friend, Elizabeth, I met in first grade right after I had moved from St. Paul to Falcon Heights. She was assigned to be my “tour buddy” for the day, so she grabbed my hand and within seconds we were off and she was showing me all there was about first grade at Falcon Heights Elementary. We then learned that we only lived 2 blocks away from each other so we got together any chance we could and we still do.

So I’ve talked about how I fit into the world now I’m going to tell you about my values and experiences.

The most important values to me are faith and love. Faith to me is my relationship with God and Jesus. At this stage in my life I see God as a mysterious and powerful male figure in the universe. He is everywhere. I see God as love whose intention for us is for us to love. I have a personal relationship with God; I tell him my troubles, the joys in my life, and whatever is on my mind. When I am communicating to God through prayer or journaling I feel like I can talk openly without fear of criticism. I believe that God cares about me as an individual and listens to me. I think that God uses people in my life to communicate back to me. Jesus is the son of God who teaches us it is okay to have emotions, suffering is part of living, and that we can be forgiven. I love church rituals; they support the development of my understanding and relationship with God and Jesus.

In Mathew chapter 22 verses 36-40 it talks about the 2 greatest commandments. One of the Pharisees asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was and Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” And as Jesus told the Pharisees to love I also strive to love. In 1st Corinthians chapter 13 verses 4-7 there is in my opinion an outstanding description of love, it says,” Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

My life experiences have impacted my thoughts and actions. So when I talked about my family I mentioned Katherine my 3-year-old niece who lives with us 50% of the time. I have always liked kids but living with her has made me realized that having children is something that I want to do. But not now! Whether she is biologically related doesn’t really matter. In my life I’ve experienced illnesses and deaths of people I love. My father has been treated for cancer and my grandmother died in November. These experiences have taught me that you only have the people you love for so long and that you only live so long. So make your life count. Don’t take the ones you love for granted and everything matters.

So now you know more about me, not everything. My hope is that you take some risks and let other people know who you are. It all matters.