I love people. I love to learn about how people grew up, how they got to where they are today, and why they think and believe things that they do. I love to learn about how other people’s lives are different than mine. I love to talk to people and get to know them, I love being in the presence of people that are alike and that are different than me. My love of people is evident through my service because I love being able to love on and help others in any way possible. Service allows me to get to know the people I am serving alongside and who I am serving for. Another one of my biggest passions is traveling. I enjoy it because I love to see all the ways different cultures live, eat, speak, and carry out their daily lives. I am enthralled by different cultures and getting to experience things that are different than my daily life. My love of traveling strengthens my love of service because I try to serve in as many different places and areas that I can so I can hear and experience the stories and lives of different kinds of people.

       The StrengthsQuest showed me some of my greatest strengths about my personality: consistency, harmony, futuristic, empathy, and developer. My greatest strength is consistency. This means that balance is important to me. I make a point to treat everyone the same and make sure that no one person feels less or greater than other people. This strength is good to have within a community because I see everyone as equal and want everyone to have equal opportunities and chances in life, no matter who you are.

         Harmony is being able to understand and respect other people’s thoughts and opinions without making yours the most well-known and heard. I feel like harmony in a community creates a sense of belonging because everyone feels that they are well respected. This sense of belonging as mentioned in Block is crucial because people feel like they can express their thoughts and opinions without being judged by other people. When others start to argue or can’t reach a compromise, I try to be that middle-man that helps them reach a consensus

         People tell me all the time, “You have such big goals and dreams; aren’t you afraid that they might not happen?” I am from a very small town where most people are born and live in the same place and are usually doctors or lawyers. I want to be more than that. I want to do and achieve things that people say “Wow that’s awesome, how did she do that?” I plan to receive my degrees from Virginia Tech and then get a job in New York City. I have fallen in love with the city, and many people think that I am crazy, but I plan to move, live, and work there. Whichever job and career I end up with, I want to be able to travel to many different cities and countries as often as possible. These goals are what allow me to make it through the calculus class that I hate and make it through the thoughts that I will never make it through my first semester and that help me keep my head up. Goals give you something to strive and aim for. Being futuristic is a great quality to have because when times get tough or you think you’ve hit rock bottom, you remember why you’re doing what you’re doing and get back on track.

           I strive to be the person that people know they can come to in times of need, stress, or just to talk to. I want people to know that I understand and can relate to what they are going through. This is empathy. Empathy is when you can sense the emotions of those around you. I am able to easily see the perspective of other people and can sense the way people are feeling.

          Lastly, I am a developer. I see the potential in others that they can’t see in themselves. I see the best in people and don’t focus on their weaknesses or shortcomings. To me, this is a crucial quality to have within a community because I celebrate every success no matter how big or small. This is similar to the Asset Based Community as Kretzmann and McKnight mentioned because I believe it is more beneficial to focus on people’s strengths than their weaknesses. I try to be a person that people can come to for words of encouragement and to be an uplifting voice to everyone.