“Your whole idea about yourself is borrowed – borrowed from those who have no idea of who they are themselves.” | Osho
Wow. This is the hardest piece of writing I have ever had to write.
How can I possibly tell you who I am without writing an entire book about my life and what has led me to just about the happiest life I could have ever wished for?
My accomplishments and degrees do not even scrape at the surface of who I am. They can maybe let you know how much I used to like school, and that I know how to take tests, and that I know how to follow orders, and that it took me years to really figure out what I wanted my life to be like. All of it mainly because I really didn’t know who I was. I was who others wanted me to me. Now I am who I want to be.
As a matter of fact, accomplishments and degrees have somehow made it harder for me to discover how wonderful real life is. Having degrees, in and of themselves, mean absolutely nothing. You can have PhD.’s, trophies, plaques, millions of dollars, and still have a mind that is as shutdown as ever and no credibility as a REAL person whatsoever.
One thing I can tell you, though, is that who I am today came about because I was willing to shed beliefs that were no longer working for me, and because of my courage to pursue my dreams and follow my intuition despite what society and other people thought. My personal philosophy, one that I live by every single day, is exemplified in a quote by Socrates:
“The only real wisdom is knowing you know nothing.”
My goal is to always improve as a person. When I am 90 years old, I will still be trying to improve as a person just as much as I am now. And this alone will make my life a successful one, regardless of what accomplishments and money I am to acquire.
To be a successful parent to me, means that my kids feel free to express their emotions and tell me their deepest desires with no worries that I will judge them. For me, this will translate into them wanting to be around us when they are older, not because they HAVE to, but because they WANT to.
As you read my articles on this blog, you will get a VERY clear picture of who I am, even though the articles will be mostly about YOU. Posts will be written with YOU in mind and how I can help you to improve your life as a parent or caregiver of your beautiful children.
Jayden and Jack
It doesn’t matter if you agree with it or not. You don’t have to agree and you don’t have to disagree.
All you can do is think about whether it can improve your life or not. If it can’t, discard it. If it can, use it!
More about me:
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Fresh Air Learning Program: Marketing and Recruitment Coordinator Volunteer
- The Examiner
- Twitter: helenavan
- Facebook: Helena and Tea With Mommy
Below is a summary of my ‘societal’ resume if you are interested in knowing what I have done in my past.
Education
- Master’s in Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin
- B.S. in Biology (magna cum laude) at Florida State University
- B.A. in Philosophy (suma cum laude) at Florida State University
- Minors in Mathematics and Chemistry at Florida State University
- Flute Performance at Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA
Awards and Activities
- Volunteered for three years for the Alzheimer’s Project of Tallahassee, Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, and Big Bend Community Orchestra
- Wrote for the University of Texas’ “TA Talk” newsletter
- Planned talks, titles, and speakers as a member of the organizing committee for the University of Texas’ Teaching Assistant workshops
- Recipient of the “Special Angel Award” for Extraordinary Volunteer Service for the Alzheimer’s Project of Tallahassee
- Taught undergraduate biology, chemistry, laboratory classes for 7 years
- Longy School of Music Chamber Orchestra
- Florida State University Opera Orchestra
- Worked as a Research Assistant doing Cancer and Cardiac Voltage-Gated Channels laboratory molecular biology research.
