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    On Becoming: How Did I Grow into Who I Am?
    On Becoming: How Did I Grow into Who I Am?
    On Becoming: How Did I Grow into Who I Am?
    Ebook87 pages1 hour

    On Becoming: How Did I Grow into Who I Am?

    By Dr. Gilbert W. Anderson

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    About this ebook

    In this book, "On Becoming," Dr. Anderson shares the significant and humorous events from his life that helped him grow into the person he is today. He shares his story to help readers trace the life experiences and decisions that shaped who they have become, and to enable younger readers' awareness of how current events in their lives are contributing to who they will be in the future.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateJan 28, 2014
    ISBN9781491855058
    On Becoming: How Did I Grow into Who I Am?
    Author

    Dr. Gilbert W. Anderson

    Dr. Gilbert W. Anderson is a board-certified clinical psychologist with years of public and private practice experience. He is also a graduate of a theological seminary, which enables him to combine theology and psychology in his work as a teacher, pastor, counselor, and administrator. Dr. Anderson consults with educational institutions, religious organizations, and hospitals, and continues to counsel and lecture near his home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

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      Book preview

      On Becoming - Dr. Gilbert W. Anderson

      AuthorHouse™ LLC

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.authorhouse.com

      Phone: 1-800-839-8640

      © 2014 Dr. Gilbert W. Anderson. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse 04/14/2014

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-5591-1 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-5505-8 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2014901248

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

      and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Dedications

      God—who gave me life and prevailed in it.

      Alvin and Mary Anderson—my paternal grandparents.

      Iva G. Hardin—my maternal grandmother.

      Russell and Opal Anderson—my loving parents.

      Geneva and Ellen—my supportive wives.

      Cara and Dane—my wonderful children.

      Ethan, Jonas and Kristina—my outstanding grandchildren.

      A broad number of cousins, friends, professors and fellow workers.

      Gratitude

      To Dana Davis who valiantly transcribed my writing.

      To Nancy Robbins who edited my words into a readable document in both of my books.

      To Wendy VanNest who contributed her artistic talent by utilizing pen and ink to create a descriptive illustration for each section of On Becoming.

      To Patrick W. Naylor, D.D.S.-MPH-MS, Assoc. Dean for Advanced Dental Education, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California who gave me valuable advice and support during the writing of my first book: That’s Life—Deal With It and this book On Becoming.

      Author, Dr. Gilbert Anderson

      Illustrations, Wendy VanNest

      Contents

      On Becoming

      HOW DID I DEVELOP INTO WHO I AM?

      Prologue

      Prologue.JPG

      Have you ever wondered how you became the person you are today?

      What factors in your life have contributed to your identity? Do you occasionally ask who am I really? How did I become who I am?

      Recently, my son Dane commented that my first book, That’s Life—Deal With It, was informative but not entertaining. He said that the stories I like to tell about the various jobs I have had were always entertaining. He thought I should write about them.

      Analysis of my work experiences caused me to see how they contributed to my development, but there are other factors too. In this book I will explain my work history and its influences, but I will also consider other facets in my life. As you read this, I hope it will motivate you into analyzing how you became who you are today.

      How did I become the person I am now? Only God knows the full story, but let’s look at the many factors that contributed to my development up to today. Perhaps you will be able to identify similarities in your own story.

      When checking our family background and genetics we usually look at our parents and grandparents to compare. When we evaluate ourselves we observe that we resemble our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, but there are elements about us and our children that make us question who else might be in our genetic pool. I have often heard parents comment about their child, wondering where this kid came from. They are joking, but they really are observing unfamiliar characteristics in their child. We all carry genetic characteristics from unknown contributors. How can that be?

      Historically men faced the responsibility of fighting wars and providing for themselves and their families. Men often died in battle or from the strain of hard work, which would leave wives alone, often with children. As men traveled, it was not unusual for them to trade work for food. The widows usually needed help and protection, and women would feed the men in trade for it. Eventually a wedding might take place, and children were probably born. Many, if not all of us, carry genetics from unidentified travelers. Of course, this is a minor element because we have genetics from all of our known blood relatives as well as a few unknown.

      Relatives and playmates can be strong influences on our development. I am an only child, but I had three first cousins who were present throughout my childhood. My cousins Bobby, Jerry and Marilyn, and I were together most weekends in the winter and all summer with our grandparents. I learned to play, fight, compete and share during my times with my cousins. We continue to be good friends today. My cousin Mark has been active in my life since age 16. We continue to enjoy many good times.

      I had several neighborhood buddies who spent much memorable time on my front porch just talking. We worked together to build a club house and put a sign on the entrance that read No Girls. In our teen years we dropped the sign.

      One of my friends, Billy, learned to play the trumpet. I learned clarinet and saxophone. We spent hours and hours playing music in his garage. Billy joined the Army the day we graduated from high school, and he surprised all of us by getting into an Army band. He spent 13 years marching and playing along the Berlin Wall and seven more years in Arizona on assignment.

      Once in our teen years Billy and I decided that my 1935 Chevrolet needed to be painted. We bought a kit which provided black paint and several powder puffs. We laughed and laughed as we painted my old Chevy with powder puffs. It wasn’t a great paint job,

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