Pictures That Represent My Purpose :)

No matter what career path I choose, I want to positively improve peoples' lives!

I would absolutely love to travel the world!  

I believe that goals and dreams are important when deciding my future.

What is my Purpose?

When someone asks me, “Kori, what are your plans for college?”  I suddenly pause for a second.  I think to myself, “Crap...I honestly have no idea.”  But in actuality I respond with “I’m interested in Psychology and something in the Health Science area.”  That is what I have been telling myself is best for me, but I have this feeling I will be one of those people who constantly changes their majors and doesn’t quite know what they want to do for sure.  I think that is fairly common with most students my age, so I’m not going to stress out about it!  I realize that there are so many amazing opportunities and possibilities in the world.  I would love to travel and learn more about cultures and other areas of the world.  When I told my mom this, she seemed shocked.  I think that is one way our generations are different.  Traveling wasn’t as common back then, but now it is so simple to hop on a plane and go somewhere.

When I ask people what they could see me doing, a variety of things come up.  Most see me being a teacher, or working with children.  Others see me in the business world working for a company.  I’ve also been told I could be a pastry chef, or something along those lines.  There are many others too.  I love to hear what other people have to say, and am really trying to take their words of advice into consideration as I begin planning and preparing for my future.  One thing that I need to keep in mind is what I personally want to do though.  Deciding what you want to do isn’t a very easy thing in my opinion.  I feel like there are so many different jobs and careers out there, so it might be difficult to narrow it down.
If I can’t decide what I want to do, at least I can decide where I would like to go.  In the search for colleges, I have really enjoyed the University at Nebraska-Kearney.  It was a very friendly atmosphere and the size was just about right.  I felt at home there, which is a nice feeling to have!  I’m also planning on going to a couple more colleges for visits, so we will see how that goes.  I’m the kind of person who goes with their gut feeling most of the time, so I am hoping that when it feels right, I will just know that is where I want to go.
My overall goal for my future is to just be happy and enjoy my life.  I understand that it isn’t going to be easy.  In fact sometimes, it might be extremely challenging.  But myself, liking challenges, will learn from them and keep moving forward.  If I want to be successful in life, I cannot dwell on the bad things and get discouraged.  I need to have a goal and a dream and not stop until I reach my destination.  I just want to improve peoples’ lives for the better.  I want to go to sleep at night, knowing that I changed someones’ life in a positive way.  I’m not in it for the cash-flow, I’m in it for the rewarding feeling of making someones’ day a little brighter.  I hope I find a job where I can do that everyday, that is my biggest dream.
When I am older I don’t want to be one of those people who really hates their job.  In fact, I want to the person that enjoys waking up and going to work.  I want my job to feel as though it isn’t even a job, but just an activity that people pay me to do.  So as I am choosing my future now, I want to make sure it is something that I could see myself doing many years from now.  I am not too concerned about the paycheck, because I believe that as long as you love the job you are doing, it is all worth it.  Sure it would be nice to be a billionaire, but when you look at those people now-a-days are they truly happy?  Money can’t buy happiness, but you can make your own happiness by doing what you love.  So there you have it.  I am Kori Rae Hixson.  Since we are being honest, I honestly don’t know exactly what I want to do with my life.  Does that make me a little nervous? Well maybe.  Am I looking forward to my future, even though it might be a little foggy right now?  You bet.

My Humble Abode

My family and I spend quality time around the kitchen table.

My parents are constantly asking us to pick up around the house, and that rarely happens.  Our house has character I guess. :)

My Community

Our beautiful courthouse located in the middle of the downtown square.

The Plainsman Museum and the Edgerton Center.

My School

Our school logo.

View of our high school.

My State

This is the logo of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

We have many cornfields throughout our state.

Where Am I?

Some people spend their childhood in one place.  Others move so often they can’t even count how many different schools they’ve been to.  I guess that puts me somewhere in the middle.  I was born in O’Neill, Nebraska and we lived in the country near the small community of Chambers.  I grew up in an old school house that we remodeled just the way we wanted it.  I thought that place was the coolest.  We even had a water fountain in the basement!  The backyard was lined with evergreen trees and it was so spacious.  I made a ton of memories with my family in the old house and I really miss it.  It will always have a special place in my heart, even though it looks completely different now and was converted into a horse ranch.  Whenever we go back up north to visit, it makes me cringe to see how different our house looks now.  It’s nice to remember the memories there though.  No matter how much things change we can always remember how they were, which is comforting.

Chambers is a very small town, with a population of around 350.  I loved growing up in that atmosphere though.  Even when I was younger I knew most of the people in the community and there were definitely no secrets kept.  When you live in a town of that size, news travels extremely fast!  I lived in Chambers up until the end of third grade.  When our parents told us that we had to move because our dad was given a job in Grand Island, we were devastated.  The thought of having to make new friends, and leave this life that we have just started to form was a frightening one.  I feel that the move was good for our family though.  

The first day of fourth grade at Aurora Elementary was a little intimidating for me.  I had met a few people at the basketball and volleyball camps during the summer, but hadn’t really gotten to know anyone that well yet.  I am so thankful that my parents chose to live and send us to the Aurora Schools though.  Everyone was very welcoming, and even though the school system was a lot larger than what I was used to, it felt very much like home.  

Aurora has been the place I call home ever since then.  I have learned to really appreciate this town.  Sure, it might get a little boring at times, but that’s alright.  When my friends and I can’t find anything to occupy our time with we just have to get a little creative and think outside-the-box.  Luckily, that doesn’t happen too often because our town has a lot to offer.  We have an adequate number of fast food places, cute little shops around the square, and many other hang out locations.  It’s a good combination for people both young and old.  Aurora is very family-friendly, and I feel that it is a safe place to live.  It is not perfect don’t get me wrong, but it is a place that I am proud to call my home.

Our school system is one of the best.  Our administrators and teachers go the extra mile to make sure we are giving our best effort and doing all that we can do to be successful.  There are many teachers that have been here for quite awhile and some that have just started, filling the places of those that have recently retired.  Not only does our school have an amazing faculty, we also have great activities and organizations.  There is a large variety of groups you can choose to be involved in.  Whether it’s band or the cross-country team, FFA or speech, you can do it all.  I know I’m not alone when I say that we have many students who are highly involved.  Many early mornings and late nights go into this commitment, but I feel that it makes an individual very well rounded.  It’s so nice knowing that our school stands behind us with much support in all of our extra-curricular activities we pursue.

Living in Aurora has taught me many things.  One thing is that I need to respect and be proud of the place I call home.  Even if I wasn’t so sure about coming here when I was a fourth-grader-to-be, I now understand that this is how it was supposed to be.  It was all part of God’s plan to open up new doors, and create new friendships for my family and I.  I feel honored and blessed to live in such a great community that has such tradition and pride.  The way I see it, if you don’t appreciate where you are from, how can you expect to love where you end up?