Identity

Sometimes, I don't feel like I belong. Other times, I feel like I'm exactly where I need to be doing what I am doing. I am sure a lot of us feel this way.

Over the years of developing into an athlete and as a woman having various dating, myspace, and facebook profiles, I have received some odd friend requests and messages.

Some of the friend requests that stand out to me off the top of my head come from people who have interests in: tall, muscular, strong and/ or plus size women. Some like the "amazon" type." Some people like to collect athlete friends or just weightlifting friends, etc. I always look at someone's profile when they follow me or send me a friend request to see what they're all about.

I have always wondered why people do that. To each their own, I guess. A person like me however, who fits in a lot of categories, begs the question, "Where do I belong?" Sometimes I wonder, "What does this person think about when they see me?" What kind of judgments, categorizations, or assumptions do we make about someone instantly on sight? I have spoken about before not judging people on appearance. Which I still stand firmly behind. I still wonder though...

I am almost 6 feet tall, I am an athlete, I am plus sized, I am Mormon, and obviously, I am a woman. I have so many interests and tastes with my extracurricular activities, career choice, life goals, passions, fashion, adventure, etc. I don't feel as though I can be lumped into only one category. If someone were to ask me where would I categorize myself, I'd probably say something more obvious because that is the easiest.

It seems as though in any of my interests, body-types, or religious preferences, I don't take part in 100% of the culture. As if everything just weren't completely "me." Only part at best.

The best way I can describe myself, cliche as it may be is to say, "I'm Sarah Robles." I feel at some point, I will understand my purpose is in this life and when that enlightened day comes, I can then clearly define myself. We are all so very, very different. I believe we all have a purpose no matter how great or small. We are all different for a reason. Like a puzzle, we are all needed to come together to complete the picture.

Have any of you felt this way? How would you categorize yourself vs. how others have? How have you come to these realizations?

Sarah