I've lived in the same house all my life, same city in the middle of the United States. Kansas City has a large population of diverse people. Before I started to comprehend what I was seeing on TV and online, I only knew what was told to me, or what I experienced in my town.
Raised in the Catholic Church, brought up by a man and woman who have stayed married for 21 years, I was given a window to see through--the window of my life.
Little did I realize how many windows there are. That people of the same sex can love each other and build a life, just as well as my parents did. I didn't know how the Amish lived or how polygamists were living their own American life until I turned on the TV and saw for myself. I didn't realize I could choose to believe and have faith in whatever my mind chose, not to say I was oppressed, but just that technology opened my view.
The biggest advantage technology today has given me, to date, is the ability to see opportunity. We are told we can be whoever we want to be, if we are raised with that old American enthusiasm. But I didn't ever realize how many people I could possibly be, how many dreams I could possibly dream, until technology gave me the path to seeing that.
One day, I was flipping through the many facets of the internet when I came across a short story about a coach and her interaction with a handicapped fan. At the time, I had been out of sports for two years with a broken leg and then nerve damage, so I took what this coach said especially close to heart, "Don't let the way you are now define who you will be. You can overcome anything if you work at it." The coach was Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee, and right then and there, I knew what window I wanted to look through for the rest of my life.
My one window gave me inspirational figures, people I aspired to be like one day, if only I could find a way. Using the resources available to me, I was able to find a college twelve hours away from me that I knew had to be the path to living my dream--the University of Tennessee. I ultimately want to help people, and on the next tier, lead and inspire them. For me, my biggest mentors in life have been my athletic coaches, and now, I aspire to be one.
Just as the internet does not give you just one portal, or window, to look through, my life is no longer one window. I've opened new tabs, and constantly flip through them, because as an 18 year old, I'm allowed to have some doubts about my future.
Though I know I want to be a coach, I always stop when I see certain posts online or see programs on the television. I have joined the Air Force ROTC here and hope to go as far as I can to becoming a Pilot; the military always interested me, and I was able to explore that world more and more through documentaries and websites. One of the best aspects of that job would be that it wouldn't end after serving my country; I could help so many people in so many ways with that one occupation.
The internet and TV have really been my path to inspiration. I have met people, read stories, seen places, learned lessons, and dreamed dreams I really could never have met, read, seen, learnt, or dreamed unless I had this amazing portal. I have found my home through the internet, and constantly seek and find answers using this technology I've been blessed with. I now hope to use my power of reaching others online with great responsibility. I can't wait to add more windows to my life, and start building the windows for other men and women of our future.
