The Puzzle of Me

 Every day, brows sweating and mind pacing, I do a puzzle. I lay out all the pieces on the floor and get to work. At first, I identify corner pieces of the puzzle and configure them in their appropriate positions. Then, I start filling in the spaces between the corner pieces, noticing each puzzle piece and its differences from the others. One puzzle piece is labeled “precision to details” while another one is labeled “ambitious”. Not quite sure what the end result will be, I patiently continue to place the pieces in their position as I focus on deciphering the picture they construct. After 16 years of doing this puzzle, I have still not completed it - because the puzzle is me.


The complexity of my puzzle stems from the fact that the pieces counteract each other to maintain homeostasis. Through my journey of contriving this complex puzzle, I came across characteristic pieces emulating my identity. Integral pieces include kindness and empathy that allow me to understand clinical patients and students I tutor to offer comfort and hope when they need it most. Another piece of the puzzle shows my tendency to trust others, which can sometimes hurt me if the other person takes advantage of this. Other pieces of the puzzle reflect my practice of setting high goals and how sometimes my self-confidence is hurt if I don’t reach these high goals. However, these pieces in the puzzle are interwoven into other pieces that remind me to never settle for mere success and to always look for ways to keep building on my achievements and personality. One puzzle piece shows how I value precision and  often focus on too many details. Yet, this same puzzle piece allows me to play violin and piano with pin-point accuracy. Despite this, I remind myself to focus on the bigger picture of the puzzle instead of knit-picking individual pieces. Displayed on a piece is my tendency to play life safe, nurturing responsible decision-making. Although this trait keeps me clear from troubles, I aim to take more risks and expose myself to vast experiences. While embarking on these unconventional tours, I may end up picking up more puzzle pieces as souvenirs to add to my puzzle or discovering new personality traits and interests.


Right now, my puzzle is incomplete but all the pieces complement each other and welcome an endless array of possibilities for the person I am and can still grow to be. Solving my puzzle is an ongoing process as I strive to acquire more traits to develop myself. I will continue to modify the elements of my puzzle as I grow out of my weaknesses and add to my strengths

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Power of Pictures

A picture can tell a thousand words. What even a thousand words can't tell, pictures can tell. Pictures help us to better visualize the scenarios that are being described by words and sometimes, pictures can even be understood without words. Pictures have the power to bring the story to life and enhance the overall experience described in the story. Motion pictures, or more commonly known as movies, are often more powerful than the books that tell the same story. In movies, the audiences can actually view the scenarios the characters are going though. This may help them feel more connected to the character and empathize with them more: "A huge range of human experiences can be portrayed in comics through either words or pictures" (McCloud 809). One picture can tell many words in a more concise manner. When reading a book with no pictures, we always make our own pictures in our heads to better understand the story. We then associate these pictures with certain characte
Read more

Maus

On page 136, volume 1, Vladek is describing how he and Anna were trying to find a place to hide so that the Nazis wouldn’t take them away to concentration camps. In the first couple panels, Anna and Vladek go to Janina’s house because she had promised them before that she would help them when needed. However, her promises changed after the Nazis took over because she feared the safety of her own family. These panels contribute to Art’s recurring theme that fear of the Nazis forced the Jews and other people to completely change their values, promises and beliefs, in an attempt to stay safe. This contributes to the portrayal of power the Nazis held over the citizens; they had the power to alter  people’s fundamental beliefs and values. When Janina refused to help Vladek and Anja, they panicked a bit but decided to disguise themselves to avoid trouble. In the next panel, Anja and Vladek are shown holding masks to represent disguise. Vladek says, “I was a little safe. I had a coat and boot
Read more

A Day to Remember

Image
  This picture is meaningful to me because it was the day I met my younger sister. I still remember how excited and happy I was when my parents told me my little sister was born. I distinctly remember my dad picking me up from daycare and driving me to the hospital to meet my sister. The whole drive, I kept asking my dad questions about her as I could not contain my excitement. Before my sister was born, I often felt bored and alone as I did not have anyone to keep me company at home. This feeling fueled my excitement when my sister was born and I could not wait to meet her. I simply kept thinking of all the different games we could play together. When we finally arrived at the hospital, I remember not being able to peer over my sister’s bassinet to see her and asking my dad to lift me up so that I could take a look. I also remember as soon as I saw her, she somewhat smiled at me. Feeling elated, I chattered away to my mom and dad in my loud, childish voice. The next day at daycare, I
Read more