Discovering my best self through interviews

A distinctive pattern that emerges across both stories is my consistent and internally-motivated discipline, especially when no one is watching. In both my dad’s and Sarrah’s stories, the focus is not actually on a single moment, like the graduation ceremony or the one time I ran twenty miles in a day, but instead of the steady efforts made every day. For example, my dad emphasized the years of literal blood, sweat, and tears I spent on fencing practice while maintaining my academics. Similarly, Sarrah mentioned that the daily routine of running was more impressive than the actual twenty mile run. Both stories also show that my discipline becomes very powerful when it builds toward something meaningful, like my graduation milestone. Ultimately, the specific theme is that I am at my best when I commit to a goal, consistently showing up every day with discipline until my effort culminates into growth or achievement. 

Something that surprised me the most was that neither of them focused on the stress and uncertainty that I felt in those moments. I never thought of graduation as something grand; I thought of it more as a formality. In the moment of walking the stage, I mainly felt anxiety from the watching audience and hoping I did not trip over my own feet. As with running, I was extremely stressed about my MCAT, and I ran just to blow off steam and distract myself. I never saw either event as anything extremely meaningful. To me, they just felt like meeting expectations that I had set for myself. On the other hand, to my dad and Sarrah, they saw a level of discipline and consistency that I definitely took for granted. I tend to view these experiences as things I had to do or as routine parts of my day instead of defining character strengths. These two best-self stories revealed a blind spot in how I see myself. Struggling with self-esteem, I often underestimate my own capabilities. What seems ordinary to me may actually be traits others find respectable and memorable. I tend to focus on tangible achievements, such as college acceptance or improving my running pace, causing me to neglect all the quiet actions taken that lead up to them.

Theme: Discipline and daily consistency

The Climb by Miley Cyrus reflects my theme. The chorus sings “Ain’t about how fast I get there, Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side, It’s the climb” and “these are the moments that I’m gonna remember most.” Cyrus highlights perseverance and consistency over the result similar to how my dad and Sarrah focused on my years or months of discipline instead of a single memorable moment.