Yesterday, when my kids came home from school I asked them to do something for me. I had them write at the top of a page the words I Am, then I told them to list as many things as they could or wanted to, that described them. I told them I wanted them to be completely honest and not write things they thought I wanted to see. I did the same for myself. I wanted to see what my children really think about themselves. We live in a society where there are so many unreal ideals of how we should look. Society telling us how we need to act, or what to think, and I wanted to see how this affects them. I hardly ever watch tv anymore, I can't stand to, reality tv has taken things to a whole new level of stupidity. I don't want my kids to think that what they see on tv or in magazines is "real", because even reality tv is not. You want reality, sit down with your family...your friends...your neighbors and get to know them. Nobody read each others lists, not even me until right now, because I didn't want anyone to influence what anyone else said. These were our results.
My 9 year old son: I Am...
Cool, a brother, awesome, happy, strong, good at math, good at art, an artist, good at painting, good at Lego Batman 2, crazy.
My 14 year old daughter: I Am...
Happy, sad, smart, talented, I love to sing in front of people, not afraid to say no, normal, a leader, a comedian, amazing, LDS, energetic, an artist, I have difficulties, I have flaws, I am not perfect, I can't do everything right, I am not the smartest person, I don't wear fancy clothes, I suck at English, I don't have bad friends, I don't follow trends, I don't use photo shop to change what I look like, I don't do drugs, I won't do the wrong things to fit in, I don't judge, I have great friends, I am crazy, I don't fall in love with celebrities, I am me, I am myself.
My 15 (almost 16) year old son: I Am...
Cool, funny, smart, nice, a great friend, nice to talk to, a good listener, a hard worker, crafty, I can be a good leader, I am a Mormon, I am who I am.
And Me: I Am...
A wife, mom, caregiver, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, friend. I am not necessarily a writer, but I write what I feel. I am spiritual, a deep thinker, open minded, strong, but I have many weaknesses, I have some scars, but I am not broken. I am loving, and I am loved. I am caring, and I am cared about. I am unbelievably stubborn, better at giving than receiving, sometimes overly emotional and sometimes very angry. I am happy, hard working, beautiful (that one is still hard for me to say). I am a fantastic singer....in my car...when no one is listening. I am not a size 2 and I don't want to be, but I am active and healthy. I am an introvert, that was born a Leo, that doesn't make sense...it means I am shy and quiet unless you really know me and see my other side. Mostly I am patient, but I am a working mom and sometimes I am tired and impatient. I am not creative, but I have moments of creativity. I am still addicted to Diet Coke and almond snickers....seriously is there anything better? I am spreading my wings and learning to fly. I am able to forgive and move on. I am me....I am not you, I have my own mind, and I know how to think and make decisions for myself. I am an individual. I am all these things and more, and I am not the same today that I was 30 years ago, or 20 years ago, or 5 years ago, maybe even 2 years ago.
I was quite impressed with what my kids said....they really are great kids. What would your list say? What do you really think about yourself? What would your kids say about themselves? Try it. It's a great way to start conversations that we all need to have, because this is reality. Watching people on tv make fun of other people for the sake of being mean.....what does that teach our kids? How does that influence what they think of themselves? I know growing up I compared myself to every girl I went to school with. I read all the stupid teen magazines and wanted to look like everyone else but myself. I can tell you that my top 3 things on my list when I was a teenager would have been (because this is what I really felt).... I am fat, I am ugly, and I am invisible. Thankfully I don't think this anymore, but the purpose of this exercise was because I don't want my kids to ever think this way either.
Finally read this :)
ReplyDeleteLove that two of the kids described themselves as "crazy".
You do have great kids and I doubt you needed me or these lists to tell you that.
Love that you know yourself so well now.