Who I am and How I Know It

As part of our new Leadership Program in the Middle School, I teach a 6th grade leadership class. One of more recent assignments, which incorporated a perception of self and perception of others aspect was asking the students to write a two paragraph short essay on the statement: Who I am and How I Know It. 

Below is a student response to the assignment:

Often, by parents, friends, (and in not sometimes the best way) my teachers, tell me that I am a pretty funny guy. I make Burke Sullivan laugh so hard that his face turns redder than his hair. But as I said before, my teachers...they know i’m funny, but that makes me disruptive in class. Burke laughing at me, and teachers correcting me and telling me to not be a smart, you-know-what in class is a good sign that I am funny like I think I am. But, I have other interests besides annoying teachers and making my friends roll around on the floor in laughter. For example, I love Football (not the American kind). I am a keeper and I am often complimented on my skills. Heck, even Mr. Jones called my house complimenting me on a particularly sharp game I had. Also, I love to ride horses. As silly as it may seem, I love horses. Besides my undying love of dogs, horses are the next closest thing to my favorite animal. Other guys might say, “Horses? You, ride horses?! Ha!”. But I have been told that by my parents (that one goes without saying because, well, there my parents!), and summer riding instructors, that I have a thing for it.

And finally, my last case (which may seem even more mushy and odd that the horse thing). I am me. And nobody can be better at being me, than me. Sticking to the title of this short essay, Who am I and How I know This, I must know give supporting evidence to show why I know this. Well, (here comes the mushy bit), my parents, grandparents, and close relatives, tell me that they love me. Which must imply that I am doing a pretty good job of being me, or else they wouldn’t love me as much as I know them to love me. So, one of the biggest things that defines who I am and how I know it, is that I am lovable, and it is shown through the love of my family.