1 Anna Vielman Dr. Carson ENG-111-866BG Writing and Inquiry 12/01/2022 The Stories of a Growing Soul Stories are one of the more sacred things that have been drawn from the existence of humans. One of the earliest and most primitive accounts of events in one's life and history, a way of recalling happenings for ones who have not seen said incident. Being one of the few things that have survived and thrive from generation to generation, only growing stronger in passing time. Everything can be called back to a story; media, music, modern literature, this document, one's thoughts, almost everything stems from some sort of story being depicted. And in the many lifetimes that I feel I have lived; few stories stand out among the thousands that I could recall. There are just certain ones that hold my psyche captive and alter the way in which I live my dayto-day life, ones that have shaped the woman I am today. An unlikely interaction with a YouTube video on a community app and my 14-year-old mind. Before then, young me didn’t know what subliminals were or even how they functioned. I did not know that it was better to start my day on “the right side of the bed “or with “positive vibrations.” Manifestation, creating my own reality, speaking my life into existence; all these things were foreign to me. Until that fateful, ordinary day, when I was introduced to the idea that I could bend existence at my own will. That the way in which I phrased words and positioned my tongue, could affect the outcome of my very being. As I dove deeper, it all amazed me. The idea that I could “shape my own reality,” as the feminine voice chirped in my impressionable ears. 2 Though, manifestation can be seen as wicked (when used in a wiccan/witchcraft sense, the one I use it in merely being to encourage positivity), it is something that has stuck with me to this day. Even if many call it tomfoolery and don’t these things, that video and the rabbit hole it led me down has become a routine in my life. Allowing me to begin my morning with positive intentions for the day and kind words to myself, much unlike the cruelty I offered myself prior to knowing about this. Still to this day, after all these years, I avoid unnecessary loathing towards myself. Now knowing that the way I view myself is the way I will be perceived by others. If I call all this negativity on my person, then that will manifest and become one with me. Which is of course an unpleasant thing to be avoided. Or that if I call myself beautiful and brilliant, I am allowing myself to become that. Thoughts such as these constantly swirl and dance in my mind, even allowing me to shift the way in which I think about myself. Learning to love and be kind to my existence, and that’s what I will earn in return. Though this life altering positivity boost inducing occurrence is not the only event in my life story that has kept me going. There have been people that have changed the ways in which I view myself and the world around me, people who still sit in the corners of my mind, their voices echoing and bouncing from the walls. Of those many voices, two roar louder than the others; that of my uncle and father. Two of the strongest men I have ever had the pleasure of being acquainted with. Their words, their actions and more importantly their stories, are what help me live the way I do. The tales of how my father and his family lived in their home country, living off only bread and beans for weeks on end, 8 people squeezing onto one bed in a two-roomed stone home, the violence of Guatemala, all of this helped me realize how much I have. Even when I feel as though I’m suffering or that I don’t have enough, there are people out there faced with worse, who only dream to have what I 3 do. The retellings of how my uncle came here illegally, working hard to bring his siblings and mother here the “lawful” way and tending to all their needs while attempting to navigate a foreign, new world, has made me so grateful. It’s made me appreciate what I come from, it motivates me to work hard and take advantage of the opportunities I have been given; ones that would make Tio Julio proud of me. The many struggles both have faced and overcame have been so prominent in my growth and the way I wade through the waters of life. That if they can endure so much, why can’t I do the same? If they did all this for the betterment of our family, why not use the assets provided to me to do things to continue and help push our family forward? And that is what I do, I use the example of these two, courageous men to fuel my soul no matter what hurt, pain, or tribulations I face, that I can always press through. The stories we tell, hear, and live will affect how we live and cause the actions that we display no matter who we are. Though it is our decisions how we will process and act on these effects and the causes to them. It is our choice on whether to let it cause our flames to burn out or affect our fire to burn brighter.
