Article October 13, 1997 Issue

What shapes who I am?

Channing Walker

I Have a friend. He likes to boogie-board a lot. It takes some skill. How to catch a wave. How to move with the curl. When to pull out so you're not just sudsing in the foam. When you have a skill like that, it can help you feel good about yourself.

Another friend is good at gymnastics and getting better. Nearly every time I see her she is practicing. Roundoffs. Backflips. Onehanded cartwheels. She's always working on floor exercises. Soon she'll be working on the beam. Again, it's the kind of skill that can help you feel good about who you are.

Sometimes people say kids today don't reach out to do anything or to be anything good. They say kids have turned aimless and don't have any goals because of television and video games. But do those things really have the power to shape us? I don't think so. You can always stop and ask yourself, What makes me who I am? Am I just copying others I see in movies? Am I just imitating other kids at school, trying to do what they think is cool? Or, am I finding something worth doing and worth doing well—something positive that shows that God has shaped me to be who I am?

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