4- Challenges Always Come

I love challenges. If it were not for challenges, I would not be the person I am today. Although I have never experienced anything dramatically bad happen to, I have gone through my fair share of small problems that still cause stress, sadness, frustration, and growth. For example, I have learned a lot about who I am and who I want to become while being here at NAU. Academically wise, I have been challenged. Prioritizing things has also been a major challenge for me. Faith or religion is a major part of who I am. Growing up, it was so easy to live the way I was taught and knew I was supposed to. However, when I came up to school, I had all this freedom to do what I wanted. I lost sight of a lot that was important to me, and coming back to it, the way I used to be, is still a challenge but it's helped me so much already. My friends, my bishop (religious leader), my parents, all challenge me to be my best self whether that is in my academics, in my religion, or as a person. It's important to step out of our comfort zones, to get outside perspective, and to be open to change in order to really make our weaknesses stronger. This was such a positive experience for me. Now that I know what works for me, I am so much happier. I am still challenged, and I have no doubts that I will continue to be challenged. But I can look forward to it because I have set out that strong foundation for myself that I can rely on. I think this is what I will use with my mentees. Challenges are inevitable, but as along as they have the right foundation, they can really tackle anything. We are all made up of weaknesses and strengths. How awesome would it be to make those weaknesses a part of our strengths?