Some observations on how life works, from a guy who still hasn't figured it out.

Many people say that college changes you as a person, and to a point that is definitely true. I've looked back at the experiences that I've gone through, my successes, my failures, lessons learned. Yes, I look a few years back and on the surface I see a different Shane than I do now, but I also see a Shane who really didn't know who he was in the first place, and to be brutally honest I still haven't completely figured it out. But maybe that's not really such a bad thing...

I've come to the conclusion that our personalities are intrinsic. It's our habits, our thoughts, our feelings, our priorities, dreams and obsessions, that make up our identity, and our identities can be very fluid. I feel that identities are damn hard to figure out. Significant others, the people you live with, friends, family, all can influence your identity if you let them. Figuring out your identity can be damn hard. And then on top of that you have to be able to harmonize your identity to your personality, and that, I believe can take a lifetime.

I know there are people out there who may have figured all this out, they are perfectly comfortable with who they are, or they are just good at making it appear that way, I don't know. But I have to think that each and every one of us, to a point, we're still trying to figure ourselves out. We have so much more to learn about ourselves, professionally and personally. That development of learning, and consequently changing, is one of the most vital processes in our lives.

College was a place for personal growth, and an environment where we were able to start developing and finding our identities. And the awesome thing about college is that your environment changes so often! So many aspects of my life changed during my five years at Bloomsburg, all the different places that I've lived, roommates, friends, girlfriends, classes, semesters passed, and semester failed (yes that was one of the bigger 'lessons learned'), teachers, mentors, and so much more. Through somewhat of a processes of elimination I've taken note as to what thoughts and feelings stuck around, and which ones came and went.

So, I will soon be walking out of Bloomsburg vastly more comfortable in my own skin than from when I first got here. And i'm proud of that fact. But for me whats scary, and exciting, is the fact that I will continue to grow change as a person, it's inevitable.

We can't get too comfortable with our ourselves and our lifestyles because whether we like it or not things are going to change. It's scary to think about how we as people will change once we move on to other things, it's not a comfortable process. But we have to be able to get out of our comfort zones and move on! In doing this, we are able figure out what works and what doesn't work, and thus grow and change for the better.

The more our identities change with our lives, the closer we get to the holy grail of figuring out how to make our identity work with our personalities, and maybe, just maybe, that's what life is all about.

-Shane Hallett

“You’ll never stumble upon the unexpected if you stick only to the familiar."

-Ed Catmull