Who am I? We have all asked this simple but perhaps difficult question at some point in our lives. If we are completely honest with ourselves can we actually answer such an introspective question? Will we choose to hold back because of fear? Are we afraid of what the answer to this question might bring to the surface? Or are we fearless in our approach to discovering who we really are? I believe that we are the result or the product of what makes us happy. Our pursuit of happiness influences who we are and who we ultimately want to become. My identity consists of being an athlete, family relationships, and being a student, all leading to my own pursuit of happiness.
Being an athlete makes me happy because it gives me the opportunity to be an example to others. For example, when I played high school basketball for the Highland Lady Rams. I would put my hair up in four dino-buns, by doing my hair a certain style, it started a trend, and all the little girls around Pocatello, who came to watch me play did their hair like me. This humbling experience, made me feel like I was someone that they looked up to, someone they wanted to be like. Nothing makes me happier than being an example and knowing young little girl's look up to me and want to be just like me. .
As stated by my father, Jeff Van Sickle, "From the time Ma Kenzie started walking she had to have a ball to play with. I knew then there was something special about Ma Kenzie when it involved a ball. I will never forget her first organized soccer game at age six, when she scored the first seven goals for her team, which included boys; the coach had to hold her back because no one could stop her." I am a very competitive person and love the pure adrenaline rush that I get from competing in sports. I have learned many life lessons from my participating in athletics. I have learned the value of communication as it is essential to having success on the court or field of play.