Kyriako Anastasiadis July 15, 2012 EPS 512 Identity Reflection Growing up my family members always told me,

Youre so young, and how do you know what you want and who you are? Like most eighteen year olds I thought I knew what was important to me, what I wanted, and who I was. Now that I am twentyfive, boy was I wrong. Just in the last couple years I have really started to figure out who I am and what I want out of life. People know me as an individual who works out religiously, I love to push my limits physically, and that guy who loves to make speeches. That is all true but the ones that are really close to me know that I am also a person who loves to read and write, I do a lot of reflection on my own in the outdoors, and can not wait to me a husband and father some day. I am proud of my Greek heritage and love to participate in Greek social events. I am a member of an outreach group at my church and I hope we can travel to another country and help people in need. I love taking me girlfriend on dates and making her happy. I have a very strong passion for teaching and coaching. I want to be a head football coach for a high school one day, and be that physical education teacher who not only is fun and cool but also inspires them in ways that they will remember years down the line. I am a student who is a horrible test taker and did not do a whole lot of studying in high school or college. Even though I did not test well or study much I still did well in school. I graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a 3.55 grade point average and got good grades because I paid attention in class, made sure I worked hard on my

homework, and excelled in papers, projects, and group activities. My body begins to shut down when there is a lot of lecturing in class. One great way that I learn is through class discussions. It is a very engaging activity and we learn so much from our classmates. I expect my teacher to be understanding, caring, and a strong communicator. I want them to challenge me in ways that will help me for the future. I enjoyed classes where the teacher had a sense of humor and really enjoyed being in the classroom with us. I expect that the teacher set the example through their actions. If they want us to work hard and be prepared they should be able to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Aside from pursuing to be an inspiring coach and teacher, I look forward to being a family man. Family is a very important aspect in my life. We have a big Greek family and I love it. One day I hope God can bless me with a family of my own. I am not one that strives to chase the dollar in life. I believe people who do are really just chasing happiness and they will never catch it. I want to be remembered when I pass on. I want to be remembered by students, my athletes that I coach, and my loved ones. I want to live a life that is selfless and close to God. All of these qualities that I strive for, I work on everyday. I am nowhere close to being where I want to be but I know with hard work and trust in Him I will get there and experience life greater than I ever imagined it. I look forward to your class and I think we are going to have some great discussions, which I am looking forward to a lot. I like listening to stories that people have. I believe when a teacher shares their stories the students can connect with them and learn more in their class. After this first week I noticed all the work and accountability there is and that excites me and I cant wait to get deeper into this.