‘THE WHY OF IT’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY NATALIE ASATRYAN
WHAT’S YOUR WHY
LOOKING BACK TO FIND WHERE YOU’RE AT It's nearing the end of summer break for me and I'm currently in the process of finishing my summer work for the start of my junior year. One of the books I’m writing an essay on for my AP Biology class is called “Your Inner Fish” by Neil Shubin. In this book, Shubin spends a good deal of effort describing the importance of learning our part to help us better understand our present and prepare for our future. I've had quite some time to reflect on this concept as I've been working on my essay. In his book, Shubin discusses history in terms of the 3.5 billion years it took to form every part of the human body. I've decided to look at this from a broader perspective.
Why do we look back on our past?
The answer is the first word of the question - ‘why’.
“Our “why” is so important and yet so easily overlooked.”
We want to know why we do the things we do. Understanding why we’re doing something is what helps us decide if it's worth spending time on in the present. Why am I working so hard on my summer work instead of being at the beach? It's so I can pass my AP exams in May and earn my college credits. Our ‘why’ is our motivating factor.
But sometimes it's the opposite. Sometimes we question ourselves on why we keep going with a certain behavior that's not beneficial to us. Why do I check my phone in the middle of homework assignments? Because it's a habit. Once I've evaluated the reasoning behind my behavior and its lack of benefit to me, I can take active steps to break said habit and become more efficient with my time. Our ‘why’ is so important and yet so easily overlooked.
That's why I'm thrilled that with this month's issue, I get a chance to look back on my why and remind myself of the reason I do what I do.
I figured I should give a quick rundown of what I do before I get to why I do it. Unfortunately, you guys don't live inside my brain so I can't just assume you know what I'm talking about…
I'm a yoga teacher, and I'm 16. I started teaching when I was 12. All of my classes are donation bases which means people can give as much or as little as they want and 100% of the money goes to support charities. I've worked with organizations such as the American Red Cross, Red Nose Day, the Unstoppable Foundation, and Children of Armenia Fund. I hope to talk more about each of these charities and the causes I'm passionate about sometime in the future. I'm beyond grateful that here I have a platform to discuss such important topics. But that’s for another time. Back to the ‘why’.
39 AWARENOW / THE SOURCE EDITION
www.IamAwareNow.com