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Pondering the Word Can’t and SYDNI

Once, I counted how many times I’ve moved in my life.

Twenty-one.

When I meet new people, one of the first get-to-know you questions they ask is “Where are you from?” And I’m not sure what to say. I was born in Wyoming, have happy memories in Kansas and North Carolina and Illinois and Minnesota, and have enjoyed the last few years in beautiful Iowa. So, usually, I just give up on anything too interesting and settle for “I’m not really ‘from’ any one place.”

I decided I like that answer. Because one of the most important things I have learned in my life is that I do not fit into a mold. I’m not from one place. There’s no one thing or one idea or one aspiration that defines me. I can’t even pick just one favorite color.

Another important lesson I have learned in my life is that nobody fits into a simple mold.

And with these two simple pieces of knowledge, I let my world expand and take shape into something so much better. I learned more about people who were at one point strangers, because I stopped thinking I knew so much about them. I learned more about my closest friends, because I stopped thinking I knew so much about them. I also learned more about myself, and I realized some great strengths and not-so-great (but bearable) weaknesses.

Most importantly, though, I stopped making boundaries for myself. I took a page from my eight-year-old sister’s book and stopped using the word “can’t.”

And this is why you’re reading my first blog entry—the beginning of my year adventure! This year, I go to another country, speak a foreign language, meet many new people, become apart of a community 3,000-plus miles from my current one, and CHANGE.

Sydni Heron

About Sydni Heron


Sydni is a youth leader at her church and president of her class. She expresses herself through design, and has even designed her school's fashion show. She is currently pursuing her CNA and EMT Basic, which help fuel her interest for the health care field. She is also passionate about writing, and her greatest aspiration in life is to write a novel.

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