Adolescent Autobiography
The purpose of this essay is to analyze two of my experiences in my youth, taking seminary and participating in Volleyball, and how they have shaped my growth into who I am today. These experiences, along with many others, from my adolescence have impacted whom I have become in many different domains of my development, including spiritual, cognitive, social, and physical.
Seminary Experience
At fourteen, I started attending seminary as part of my high school experience. Focusing on my freshman year, we studied the Old Testament. My teacher, Brother Williams, had a deep knowledge of the Bible and was very involved and hands-on. Brother Williams would give us ample time to share our thoughts in class, give us stretch action items, and make this previously confusing sacred text very relatable. The class of about 20 students was from all different grades and backgrounds. In our classroom, everyone had the chance to sign up for a day to present our spiritual thoughts from our studies and lives.
Spiritual
Being in seminary helped me develop my testimony. Before seminary, my gospel knowledge came from my parents; I had not studied it on my own. As I did the readings and action items outside of class and participated in the spiritual discussions inside the classroom, I began to have a deeper understanding of the truths we were learning. As our seminary teacher likened the lessons to our situation, I began to see the personal relevance. As I shared what I was learning with my peers, I could feel that it was true, and I saw the value of the gospel in my life. I still take opportunities to deepen my understanding of spiritual truths and share my testimony.
An outcome connected to gaining a testimony was that I began to study the scriptures on my own because of seminary. In my youth, I remember reading the book of Mormon at the breakfast table and the Bible as a family at night. During this time, I usually zone out with other things until it was my turn to read. However, in seminary, I sincerely wanted to understand what we discussed; because of that, I would read the Bible on my own before bed and try to apply the scriptures to myself. I began to gain new insights from personal study and our discussion of the readings in class. Since then, I have committed to never skipping a day of scripture study and seeking opportunities to discuss the scriptures with others.
Seminary taught me the importance of missionary work. Before seminary, I never desired to serve a mission and was scared when my mom would make me invite friends to church activities. However, I was blown away by the spiritual truths I was gaining in seminary and began to have a desire to share them with others. Some action items from seminary were to share what we were learning, and I can remember specific times having to gather up my courage to share with friends from school with whom I felt inspired to share my beliefs. These experiences were positive and led to more gospel discussions. Ninth grade was when I decided I would serve a full-time mission. My missionary service is everything to me. Nothing is as needed as missionary work; I still pray for promptings to share.
An outcome from seminary was that I grew a relationship with Christ. I loved learning about Christ as a Child and had a basic understanding of who he was. When I went to seminary, I learned more about him, his many names, and his character. I began to know Christ and understand his atonement. Seminary helped me to think of the savior more often and feel more connected to him. I have built on that foundation and see being close to the Lord as a lifelong pursuit.
Cognitive
I have developed a love for learning from Seminary. I think most Children look at school with dreed, but taking an academic approach to the gospel changed my perspective. I found it wonderful to channel my mental energy into a topic that intrigued me, and with that spiritual momentum began to enjoy all of my classes. I was the only one in the class who took on the challenge of memorizing all the scripture mastery and reading the entire Old Testament that year. I enjoyed pushing myself to work hard in my education, and now I feel upbeat when I can register for rigorous classes.
Another outcome from seminary was learning to express myself and my thoughts in sophisticated ways. The reflective nature of the class helped me find the proper combination of words to convey my ideas and feelings. I found scriptures and other materials we studied, including teachings of the prophets, gave me the phrases and terminology I needed to share my sentiments. Now I write poems and memoirs that my friends adore because I can express my thoughts gracefully.
Furthermore, seminary helped me gain an academic understanding of old texts. In my secular schooling, we read old plays and books my classmates struggled to comprehend. My love for reading helped my vocabulary, and using scriptures in seminary helped me understand old English. I still easily digest sophisticated literature and use it in my scholarly studies.
A final cognitive outcome of attending seminary came from characters of the scriptures themselves. The lives we studied from the scriptures inspired me to be innovative like them. Seminary taught me what it felt to be inspired, not only in things surrounding the gospel. Instead of following the crowd, I wanted to be an original thinker, different from others like the disciples of Christ I had studied. I developed the skill to generate options and have grown to see more than one way to attain an objective.
Participation in Volleyball
I participated in volleyball throughout High School and for a few years in middle school. There was no shortage of breakups, broken friendships, broken family lives, and bullying, to name a few of the girls’ struggles. I avoided most of the drama myself, but I had many opportunities to minister to my peers and saw the heat up close when the problems were between teammates. We had a lot of different cliques, skill levels, and cultures incorporated into the team. The team was able to bond through camps, tournaments, and team dinners. I was not the star player on the court but the team cheerleader. I began to see my purpose on the team as lifting everyone’s spirit and keeping morale.
Social
Playing high school volleyball taught me to be inclusive. Because the girls on my team were cliquish, I remember the coaches making us pair up in practices with people outside of our religious, ethnic, popularity, and affluence circles. I interacted with people outside of my sphere and witnessed the hard ache of exclusion. For example, there was a girl whom most of the team isolated because of her gender identity and unusual character. I felt like I needed to make sure she knew she was wanted on the team and always had a place. Her mom later told my mother how much that meant to her and her daughter. Experiences like this taught me to help anyone who may feel excluded. Today I still cannot talk about my plans without inviting everyone I tell, even if that means mixing my social spheres.
Furthermore, volleyball helped me learn to minister to others. Among my teammates, I saw struggling and high negative emotions. We had incredible talent on our team, but the restraint was the high school crisis each girl faced. I would try to brainstorm ways to lift our team, whether that was baking treats or having meaningful conversations. On one specific occasion, another teammate and I wrote each teammate a letter describing their strengths. I still find myself writing kind notes and other things to show people I care. I have learned to write words of support and try to inspire individuals by telling them some things they do well.
Through volleyball, I have been able to see the best in others. Before volleyball, I had peers I would label and avoid, thinking they were not the crowd for me. Through the exposure of spending every day with those I would not consider “my crowd”, I began to see good in them. Even if they were involved in things I wasn’t interested in, we connected in many different ways and enjoyed each other’s company. Now, I find something likable in almost everyone I meet, and I no longer feel the need to avoid people different from me.
A final social outcome of volleyball was gaining greater trust in others. Volleyball is like a machine, where every part works together. Although there are many positions, each must rely on the other to be a high-functioning team. We practiced for countless hours to communicate with each other and what to expect from each other. Not only am I still conditioned to be the biggest talker on a volleyball court, but also this skill translates to my everyday life. In any teamwork, I have learned to communicate, establish roles, and trust everyone to do their part.
Physical
Volleyball taught me the importance of exercise. I considered myself a pretty energetic kid, but the older I got, the less time I spent being active. Once I started volleyball practice every day, I began to love how I felt as I exercised my muscles regularly. Volleyball cultivated a sense of accomplishment as I exercised. Since then, I have always tried to take at least one fitness class or join a sports team to be motivated to be active.
Through volleyball, I learned to eat healthily. We would always stop to eat at a fast-food restaurant after an away game. At first, I would always order my favorite meal and treats from these restaurants, but once this became a multiple-times-a-week routine, my feelings toward fast food began to change. The food started making me sick, and I no longer enjoyed eating at these restraints. I felt better when I ordered salads or packed a meal from home. I became a salad lover, always paying attention to how food affects me and trying to keep moderation on junk foods.
Volleyball also taught me the importance of rest. More than ever before, because of volleyball, I began to see the effects my sleep had on every aspect of my life. If I didn’t get enough sleep after an exhausting practice, it showed in my classes and on the court the next day. I could see that I could not perform at my highest level and be more prone to hurting myself. On the other hand, I saw the sluggish effects of oversleeping. If we ever fell asleep on a bus ride or overslept at a tournament, we would be sloppy and quiet on the court. Our coaches would make us keep each other up as we traveled on game day. I learned how to sleep on a schedule and what amount of sleep would help me perform the best. I still see my sleep schedule translate into my schoolwork and health. I try to prioritize my sleep so that I can be high functioning.
Through Volleyball, I learned that our bodies are capable of incredible things. Before this time, I never saw myself as athletic or gifted. I remember going into a game scared of the competition and being sure of failure. Through excellent coaching and the examples of my teammates, I gained a new perspective. I saw potential recognized and cultivated in others, teammates making impossible saves, and victories nobody would have predicted. From these experiences, I began to take courage in my abilities. Now I go for everything and can salvage what I thought were lost causes. I have participated in and accomplished things I did not imagine possible. I have overcome trials I thought were sure to lead to failure. I have become so much more because I know that our bodies and spirits are capable of incredible things.
Conclusion
As you can see from these two experiences from my adolescence, taking seminary and participating in volleyball, I gained a deeper understanding of how they changed whom I became. I struggled to think of experiences in my adolescence that shaped me, thinking of many life-changing moments more recently in my adulthood. As I thought more deeply about my core components and reached out to those who have been with me throughout the years, I saw countless examples of character development in my childhood. Although there were many influences on my spiritual, cognitive, social, and physical development, seminary and volleyball have profoundly influenced me.