Influences on My Life

Throughout my lifetime, many different factors have made me the person that I am today. The biggest influence on my life and who I am is my twin sister Sarah. Being a twin taught me from a very young age companionship. Whether by sharing toys at a young age or stealing each other’s clothes in high school, I learn through my twin how to share. Our personalities differ, but we learn from one another. For example, I have never met a person who forgives as easily as Sarah (I am thankful for this when we fight). Her forgiveness has taught me to be a better person. She is someone I often look to for advice and is like my better half. I feel blessed that I was born as a twin.

My life has also been shaped by my experiences at the Jersey Shore. I vacationed in the same house in Avalon from the time I was one until I was twelve. We now own a house in Stone Harbor and continue enjoying our summers at the beach. Our family vacations were a time of year when we were all able to truly bond. My dad, who works often at home, can leave work behind and connect more with our family. Some of my happiest memories are on the beach building sand castles when I was younger or now playing bocce on the sand with my family. The Jersey Shore vacations have taught me how to find peace and relax. They have taught me that sometimes its necessary to leave the chaos of Pennsylvania behind.

Community service tutoring through Mount’s CSC programs has forever changed my life. I still remember the first time I tutored at LaSalle Academy, and I walked away feeling like a better person because of my experience.

Throughout my high school years, I have tutored at both LaSalle Academy and Face to Face. With each visit, I learn more patience and compassion. At Face to Face, where students come from city public schools, I learn to appreciate the excellent education I have been able to receive as I watch third graders struggle with kindergarten level reading. I have learned the most from my conversations with the students I tutor. One Face to Face young girl, for example, asked me one day if I had ever felt left out before and talked to me about her struggles with friends. It was cute of her to confide in me and ask my advice. Another LaSalle Academy third grader told me her mom was going to cancel Christmas in her house that year so Mount’s Christmas gifts to her family would be all she was getting. I have grown so much as a person by just listening to the students.