This life map has shown me basically a picture of each important part of my life. Before starting my journey at Loyola, so many events have altered the course of my life to bring me where I am today. I come from a joint family, so there is my immediate family and then my uncle’s family. We all live in one house. Since I come from a big family, I’m very family oriented. Education had been a very important aspect of my life. I’m a first generation college student. I’ve gone from absolutely hating school to loving it. I have come more diverse, mostly because I am able to speak three languages. I speak Gujarati, English and Spanish. The most valued part of my life has been volunteering, I did in high school. I’ve volunteered at adult ESL, books and breakfast, and feed my starving children. The only club I participated in was service club. My one idea of selling care packages during final exam times was able to raise six hundred dollars. This money was donated to promote education in India. I think through the little volunteering I was able to do, I realized that I want to help others as well as be able to make a difference. At this point in my life, my one goal is to be more active. I want to be involved in Loyola’s community by partaking in various clubs and activities. I also want to step outside of the Loyola campus and explore what the city has to offer. I especially want to take this opportunity to volunteer where ever I can. In the future, I want to become a social worker. I want to support and motivate others to reach their full potential. I really want to think and see what is beyond my eyes and make a difference. During the life map sharing in class, I’ve learned that I’m not alone. When we circled up, I noticed how I relate to many of my classmates in one way or another. So many people share the same struggle or problem that I have. And some even sharing similar goals and aspiration as I do. I think learning that I’m not alone, I also know that there is people I can talk to if I’m feeling overwhelmed or low. I’m similar to some if not most people around me, even when I think I’m different. This encourage me to be myself. During class, while we were sharing, I realized there was so many things I forgot to include. I feel like the things that I missed to include was a really big part of my life. For example, one things I forgot to include was the car accident I was in on 2004. This accident changed my entire family. My parents became more religious and they were very overprotective. However, as time went by the shields lifted and they aren’t as religious as they were. That was a major part of my life, but when creating this life map that event didn’t even cross my mind. But, when I recalled it, I realized its importance. I feel like through the life map, I’ve learned how easy it is to forget the past, especially when it seems so distant from the present. But nonetheless, It is important because it has brought me to where I am today.