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my brother
I had arguments that were mostly irrational but I really didn't like my brother because of this when I was a kid. My brother taught me a valuable lesson of honesty and patience when I was a kid. -
3-4 years old
I moved to Hong Kong, leaving my best friend and the only life I've known behind. This taught me that God has a calling, because my dad was called to work in Hong Kong. -
my childhood best friend
For privacy reasons I will not be exposing her name, but she had a lot of tolerance for me when we were both children. Sometimes she really was done with me so she'd communicate that and tell me that she didn't like it when I was mean to her. We were both really petty at the time but she taught me the lesson of treating people the way I wanted to be treated. -
7-8 years old
My friend Caitlin lost her glasses at recess one time, so me, my best friend and Caitlin went to find her glasses. We got lost around school campus and we got into trouble. This taught me a lesson of responsibility and integrity. -
8-9 years old
I cheated on a test because I didn't study. My 3rd grade teacher was very strict about cheating, so when she saw me cheating she was very forgiving but also firm about punishing me. She gave me another chance to retake the test so I could study. I did well in the end. This taught me the valuable lesson of honesty. -
my family
My family is Christian so I had a Christian upbringing. They always put God first and had an emphasis that God was the one in control in my life. This led to the foundation of my relationship with God. -
5th grade teacher
I really struggled befriending people because my mindset changed drastically and I became more self conscious/aware. I was beginning to show signs of depression but I really wasn't in the right state of mind. My 5th grade teacher helped me a lot by guiding me to Jesus. She prayed for me a lot and her care really strengthened my relationship with God. -
my best friend
I met her at school in the 5th grade and we became pretty good friends after that. She is also not Christian, however I think she has impacted me to become a better leader because her maturity as an older person really gave me an insight on many things. -
12 years old
When I was 12 I had many identity crises and I was very rebellious. This one time I remember I retorted against a teacher and he pulled me aside to talk to me. This impacted me to really reflect on what I was doing and why I thought of myself in that certain way. -
12 years old
I had an online best friend named Riley who was bipolar and struggled with depression. One day, he attempted suicide (fortunately he did not take his own life since my friends and I were able to persuade him not to). It was a very eye-opening experience. I opened up to him about being a Christian and how Jesus cares for everybody that day. I think in the moment he felt relief. This really taught me a lesson of reality. -
12 years old
When I was 12-13 I really struggled with depression and anxiety, as well as the pressure of not being good enough for various things. This impacted me very negatively as I was often tired and slept in school, often not doing things out of lack of motivation and feeling suicidal. During this time I also did not have any friends I could trust or confide in since I didn't choose my friends very wisely and though they made me feel uncomfortable that was normal for me at the time. -
13 years old
My dad passed away when I was 13. Me and my family became very saddened upon his death. This was when we felt the comfort of God and my relationship deepened with Christ. We sought solace through God and he guided us when we were struggling. -
my friend noah
I met my friend Noah outside of church from a close friend group of mutual friends, however he really inspired me to keep my faith in God. He was and still is a very good friend of mine and holds me accountable/encourages me to go to fellowship frequently. He is understanding and I feel like I can talk to him if I have problems. I'm grateful for this friendship because there are really few friends that I can open up to about being religious etc. -
my friend alex
I met my friend Alex through a group of mutual friends outside of school. Though he is not Christian, I think that he has impacted me positively by listening what I had to say and giving me advice when I was in a tough time in my life. -
my friend/mentor jay
I met Jay through the same group of mutual friends. He's kind of like a mentor to me. He's also not Christian, but respects my beliefs. In the past I have had struggles where I didn't know where to go because I did not have a very strong relationship with a lot of my friends, however he gave me some insight. -
ms. waymire
Ms. Waymire was my facegroup teacher in 8th grade. I think that out of all my years in ICS she did a very good job of educating us on becoming closer with God even if we were questioning, as well as the struggles we would have when we were growing up. The year 2018 was semi-difficult for me because I really felt no motivation to do anything anymore, but Ms. Waymire was patient and really made us reflect on our choices as young girls. -
14 years old
When I was 14-15 there was a time where I was at a very low point in my life and I didn't treat the people around me the best. One day I woke up to the last of my friends telling me that I wasn't a good friend and they were going to see themselves out. This had both a positive and negative impact on my life as I was able to take the time to reflect/better myself as a person and a leader whilst refraining from focusing on other things. -
15 years old
During Week Without Walls I learnt how to lead others in teaching english in a way that honored God. Interacting with the students at the school really helped me develop leadership skills. -
bob
When I went to L.A. last summer I had an instructor named Bob who really helped inspire me in my life and develop leadership skills in my career interest. He gave lots of insight on the industry, how to be successful etc. and I think it was a good experience. -
15 years old
I went to a summer program in L.A. by myself in a land that was semi-foreign to me. I consider this foreign because I knew nobody and really had to trust God to guide my way through safe traveling and for him to lead me to the right people. I think overall the experience was good and I learnt the valuable lesson of blindly trusting God.