Who am I? This question can easily be summed up in one generic sentence: “I am Alex Kizima, and my favorite color is purple.” This question cannot be answered by any birth certificate, drivers license, or high school diploma. It can, however, be truly answered by my eighteen years of experiences and relationships that have impacted how I’ve grown up and who I’ve become.
Everyone has labels whether they know it or not; I have many. I am a daughter. It all started on April 17, 1995. I was born to Travis and Carmen on a Monday, the day after Easter at 10:35 am, weighing 8 pounds and 2 ounces. Everyone tells me that I was always as happy as a clam. I am a grandchild, the first for both sets of my grandparents. I am a niece to seven of my aunts and uncles. I ran solo until I became a sister. My sister Kaylan became my sidekick when she was born in May of 1997. She was my first best friend. In 2000, I started kindergarten. I was a student in Grafton, ND. I went to school there until 2002 when my mom got a job and decided to move to Park River where I went to school until I was a Junior. I transferred to and graduated from Valley-Edinburg High School in 2013. I am currently one at Bemidji State University. Between all of my schooling, I turned into a step-daughter twice. Killing two birds with one stone, my dad married my step mom, who had two children, in July of 2010. Now I’m a stepsister to Shelby and Dylan and a half-sister to Jaxon. My mom married my step-dad in 2011 and made me a half-sister again last March to Andy.
I was a licensed driver when I passed my test sophomore year of high school. My first car was a silver 1996 Ford Taurus that never started in the winter and shook if you drove it too fast. After working my butt off and passing down the Taurus to my sister, I was able to buy a 2009 Nissan Altima that is reliable and fun to drive. I was able to buy it because I’m an employee of a Cenex gas station. I started working there in August of 2012. It was one of my favorite jobs because of the amazing co-workers that work there. I’m a best friend to one person who works there, Brandyn. Working with him was always a blast; we got paid to hangout and talk to customers. I’m a friend to many people. A big part of my life is devoted to caring for others. It doesn’t matter if someone needs me at four am, I will be there. I’ve been lucky enough to grow up with amazing people and to have met great people in college. Some I met through school and extracurriculars like FFA or 4-H, others through horse events because I am an equestrian. Back in 2008, I got what every little girl wishes for christmas. I recieved a horse named Red. She is child friendly and is great for beginners. Two years and a ton of experience later, I got my main horse, Amigo. They’ve both taught me a lot over the years about myself and have allowed me to meet so many people in the horse world.
I called my mom to ask her how she would label me and she told me that I am injury prone. My first incident was when I was 6. I was standing on a one sided table and it fell on top of me and somehow, I cut my upper lip open with my tooth. When I was 7, I clenched a lightbulb too hard, and I cut my finger open. When I was 13, I fell through a grate in our floor, fell into a window, and had to be rushed to the ER for 30 some stitches; it made my right elbow really ugly. At age 16, I had to get two rods and 26 screws in my back to fix my kyphosis. I should include that I am a roommate. Before coming to college, I had started talking to another girl who was also going to BSU. After facebook chatting for a month and assuming she wasn’t crazy and wouldn’t eat deodorant, I asked if she wanted to be my roommate for this year. Everything was going swell until she turned into a very awful person three months into the term. I had to switch buildings and roommates, but it all worked out because the person I’m rooming with this year is one hundred times better. I am an addict to piercings and I love tattoos. Since turning 18, I’ve acquired nine new piercings, one tattoo, and I want many more. I can tell you what day I got them and from where. Some people need drugs, I just need new jewelry. I am brand conscience. Unfortunately, this one is very true and it drains my bank account very often. Most of the items I own, whether it be jackets, jeans, or electronics are usually brand name. Some would call it a curse because I could get knock off products for way cheaper, but instead I spend my money on a logo. I am a traveler, full of wanderlust. I’ve always been traveling. My dad is a truck driver so I’ve been fortunate to visit all the states except Hawaii. In the last five years, I’ve been extrememly fortunate to visit Washington D.C, Chicago, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, and Cozumel, Mexico. I hope to hop across the pond and travel Europe within the next year or two. My dream destination is Rome, Italy. If I ever land a job where I travel a lot, I would be in heaven, but sadly, I still have no idea what I want to do career wise. College would be easier if I knew exactly what I wanted to major in. I am an undeclared major as of right now. It’s hard to decide on what I want to do for the rest of my life when I’m not even twenty years old yet. I think one of my favorite labels is "role model". I like being a person to whom others look up to.
A first grade girl once told me, “Labels are for soup cans!” A great little quote from someone so tiny, but it’s human nature to label something we don’t understand. I’m sure there are many more labels that can describe me. If you asked my family or friends, they would probably say different, hopefully nice things about me. Before starting this paper, all I could think to say about myself is that I laugh at my own jokes and I’m addicted to twitter, but after thinking about my life and talking to my friends and calling my mom countless times to get the dates right, there’s more to myself than I thought.
Wonderful... add the new one to it....hang on to it for your "book". A+ material!
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