Finding a Space of Authoring...

Finding a "Space of Authoring" in Student Affairs  

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." - Nelson Mandela 

Over the past few days I have received a lot of confirmation and affirmations that I made the right decision to come home. I have decided to leave Peace Corps for my health, my family, and my career goals. My core values are faith, family, service before self, and excellence in all I do. I truly attest to the fact that I have matured over the course of the past year. So many events have occurred that allowed me to grow and mature into a better human being. I feel full, satisfied, and accomplished. I know that God has a plan for my life and He will provide for me in the near future. He would not have brought me this far without a plan. Although I may not know all that it entails, I trust Him and my faith is in him. For all I trust him! 

"In the midst of our lives, we must find the magic that makes our souls soar!" For me that magic is higher education and student affairs. That magic is my passion for my career. I'm very career oriented and focused on my professional development. My outlook on life is to gain progressive skills in education. Once I have attained the skills and assets that I think are necessary, it's time to move on. Feelings of uncertainty and anxiety about my professional career are unhealthy and will cause me to be ineffective. That being said, it is time to move on. 

I came back to America to continue to pursue my career in higher education as a student affairs professional and focus on my family. That's what I plan to do. It's important to ask, "what needs to be done now?" My passions in life are student engagement and  student development. I think it is important to gain experiences that align with my passion. By gaining various experiences I can craft the type of person I desire to be, both professionally and personally. I strongly believe in developing professional and personal identities to frame a new self-understanding. There is a space of authoring that allows one to write one's self into the world in a particular way. This space of authoring is the ability for people to make sense of themselves through multiple internal dialogues or conversations with the self. Talking to yourself can be healthy. It is important to take some time to unpack what is important to you at any juncture in life. I think it is also important to ask yourself, "what are the next steps to get to where I see myself?" In other words, what are things that I need to do today to get to where I want to be tomorrow. 

People must make choices to accept, reject, or negotiate the social identities that are presented in the world. I can't live life passively answering the questions of the world. I must be active and engage the world head on. I see the ability to frame my identity and to make meaning of myself as a liberatory practice that allows me to be free to become whoever I chose to be. 

Authorship is a matter of orchestration where the individual uses their social resources to craft appropriate responses in the time and space available to them. As a space of "answerability" where authoring the self is a requirement. The questions of the world must be answered, it is not a choice. 

I like who I am becoming. I am more mature, wiser, stronger, and better. I choose to author my life in such a way that allows me to be liberated in mind, body, soul, and spirit. I choose to become a student affairs professional who advocates the consciousness of social justice issues.