Vodrazka 1

Maren Vodrazka

Professor Jizi

UWRT 1104

15 October 2017

My Ten Year Road Map

As far back as I can recall, my mother and I have always found common ground

throughout a shared hobby: treasure hunting and bargaining. As I think about my future, my Commented [DJ1]: Just use a comma.

family, my job, and what my life will look like, the first thing that occurred to me was to hope

that I will still have this relationship with her. One of my top strengths is appreciation of beauty

and excellence, which I believe she shares. We bond over this, combing through thrift stores and

flea markets to find overlooked jewels in piles of ashes. We did not get along well throughout

much of my life and this hobby, silly as it may seem, brought us together and allowed us to find

common ground throughout my angsty teenage period. In ten years, I hope that this relationship

is still alive and has brought us even closer, and I hope that if I happen to ever have a daughter

someday, I will be able to introduce her to it as well. I have eyes for lovely things, even if they

do need a bit of polishing. This kind of positive emotion transformed our relationship and I value Commented [DJ2]: Shared interest. Interest is a
positive emotion.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kari-henley/what-are-
the grace with which she accepted me at our worst, so now I want to be able to carry that kind of the-top-10-posit_b_203797.html

grace into my future, incorporated with my appreciation of art and beauty.

My father thinks more similarly to me: sarcastically, with keen observance overlapped by Commented [DJ3]: Dont use so many colons. A
comma is better.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/1/44/
a thoughtful and cautious nature. We have always been thick as thieves, bonding over a dry wit

and love of adventure. I hope that he and I continue to take road trips to the mountains to revel in

their glory and push our bodies to their limits by hiking, exercising, and running. He is someone

that I can talk to, because we share a love of learning. We thirst for newness constantly, which I Commented [DJ4]: no comma before because
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believe results in that love of our adventures. In ten years time, I hope that he is still physically

capable of doing these things with me, since he raised me to love them and helped me to foster

my appreciation of the natural world and my strength of the joy to learn. Because he engaged me

in these delights as a young child, I was able to foster the appreciation of beauty and excellence

that I have now and that I want to still have in ten years. I have learned from him, and I hope that

others in turn will be learning from me by then. I find a strong fulfillment in this and it brings me

joy to expand other peoples knowledge and share amazing things with them and their minds.

When I engage with others and share deep thoughts and ideas, I feel fulfilled and my love of

learning, one of my top strengths, shines through.

As far as other relationships are concerned, I will hopefully be a solid and reliable friend; Commented [DJ5]: comma

one that others can confide in. I tend to think abstractly; differently from everyone else, because Commented [DJ6]: comma
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/1/44/
creativity is one of my top strengths and out of that stems my ability to solve problems in

creative ways. My mind is a bit of a quirky enigma, bursting with abstract flashes of colors and

ideas, but because of this I will be above average at listening to my friends problems and

offering them back in a different light, with alternative solutions. I want friends who will go to

museums with me and experience great and beautiful artwork and culture. If we share the same

sense and strength of appreciation of beauty and excellence, I feel like I will be able to be

happier in my relationships and find meaning and relatability in our bonds. This will bring me

joy and serenity, while also giving back to my friends and rewarding us with mutual fulfillment

and positive emotions.

One of my top strengths is leadership, which I believe makes me fiercely ambitious. This

will, hopefully, aid me in my hunt for a time-consuming and significant career full of

accomplishments and meaning. I do not really have a strong desire for marriage or childbearing;
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rather, I thirst for a career that swallows up my entire life. I want it to be something I will never

grow weary of and something I am passionate about; something that gives me a will to get up in

the morning and thrills me. This gives me meaning and drives me; I want to help others. This

drive can only result in one thing for me: law enforcement.

Regarding career, smartness has always been something of paramount importance to me.

Thinking of the future, the very first thing that comes to mind is intelligence, my most treasured

value. I believe that women should be strong and educated, so in ten years at the very least I wish

to be that. I want to earn my masters in Criminal Justice, and by then I wish to become a police

officer and possibly be moving up to the rank of detective, my true goal. Investigating homicides

and missing persons is something that has always been close to my heart for some reason, and

with my character strength of leadership I believe I can climb the ladder to get there. I always do

my best work when I know that I have others counting on me, and that combined with the need

for answers and love of learning and knowledge is a very desirable quality I believe will take me

far. I have always wanted to work in the FBI, and although that entails more ladder-climbing

than ten years, I would love if my skills would someday lead me there. I have far-reaching goals

and I aim to meet them, because I value creativity, and I think that my ability to think a little

differently sets me apart from a majority of candidates who may be after the same job.

Hopefully, at some point I will be in charge of some sort of training or squadron. My

character strength of leadership allows me to bend away from the pack a little bit and gives me

flexibility so I can offer up my own perspectives and theories, incorporating my creative side:

one of my other top values. Thinking outside of the box and breaking away from worn out tactics

and ideas is something that is important to me and is an important part of who I am, and who I

want to be, as a person. I will not be cookie-cutter and I want this to shine through in my work. Commented [DJ7]: no comma needed
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Coming up with new ways to do things astounds me and gives me a sense of meaning in

discovery.

I will be a well-informed and graceful officer, because I greatly value intelligence and

grace. I think that grace leads to understanding and that understanding is paramount in the law

enforcement field, because a lot of victims families require gentleness and patience and

someone to help them along and relate to them. Comfort is what they need, and although no one

can really ever understand what they are going through, an officer who is trained in that field

could be the next best thing. I want to be able to talk to those families and I want for them to be

able to talk to me freely. I hope that I am elegant and breezy, but decisive and not shallow. I will

be a public servant and I know that as a civilian now, I require the trust of the law enforcement

officers, and so I know that when I am one I want to be trustworthy and reliable. Saving lives,

bringing solace and closure and comfort to families, and discovering truths about the world are

just a few of the many ways this career path will bring me meaning and fulfillment. I feel

worthy, and like life is worth living, when I serve others and impact their lives in a significant

way. As a leader, I love to accomplish things, and I will not stop until a case is closed. My

strength of leadership and value of new intelligence makes me relentless in my pursuit of things,

so I know that I have the skills to complete a task.

I hope that my coworkers utterly inspire me. I wish to be the kind of officer that other

officers feel is approachable, friendly, and not constantly caught up in my own mind and dramas.

I want to help them as much as I help the people I serve in the field. If we are not a team, a

united front against crime and evil, then what gives us the right to leave our police department

and arrest others? We have to be able to engage together, work as a force for good, and trade

ideas we have from living all walks of life. Individuality does not serve anyone well in the law
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enforcement field at all; every man for himself is a tactic that will accomplish nothing. Rather,

one needs a partner that has their back one hundred percent of the time, and that they can talk to

and learn from. It should be a mutually beneficial relationship, and as I value intelligence I hope

that I will be able to glean from them. I hope that I will be in charge of something, but that I am

not cocky, and that my coworkers will admire but not fear me. I am a leader, and I want to lead

effectively. Intimidation is not a quality that I want to be defined as leading by.

Wholly, I know that my purpose is to serve. It is simple, and sacrificial, but I do honestly

believe that my character qualities will help me achieve this; I was made for it. I know it in my

bones, and I am at peace with knowing I may be too busy to ever start a family or have much

time for myself. The world is a dark and foreboding place these days, so who knows how much

further it will have slipped by 2027? My love of culture and appreciation of beauty thrives on my

value of intelligence, and my ability to think creatively will aid me in sticky situations. A police

officers daily tasks are unpredictable, so the skill of thinking quickly on my feet is going to be

extremely vital.

Positive emotions for me are defined as love, pride, and serenity, and I think that these

emotions will become a larger part of who I am with this job. Finally, my strength of leadership

will help me to define my career, as I rise through the ranks and get to where I want to be.

Serving others is what I was born to do, and with my treasured value of grace, I will be able to be

selfless and kind in my accomplishments.

Meaning is defined differently by each individual person, as we all have our own

passions that drive and scatter us in varying directions. However, I know for a fact that I will be

a public servant and that I will strive to do the very best that I can, learning from my mistakes

and using them as material to build my intelligence with, and that this job will bring me purpose
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and drive and meaning. I love to adventure and see new things and learn about every way of life Commented [DJ8]: omit
to venture, perhaps
adventure is a noun
that I can, and this job will fulfill me by bringing me interest and pride whilst I give back to a

community that needs my help through engagement. My emotional well-being will be satisfied,

while I will help to ensure the publics well-being.

MK,

You did a great job on this. You integrated your values and character strengths, while covering

all the areas of PERMA. I love the detail you provided when writing about your relationships

with each parent and your future work.

I would ask you to review the uses of the colon and semi-colon, remembering that even if you

are using them correctly, overuse can be distracting to the reader.

Microsoft Word has underlined some suggestions that I think you should consider looking into.

I could feel your passion and enthusiasm throughout this essay, and I can tell you that is

refreshing.