Reflection

Five years ago, when i was in the 5th grade, I became aware that my sister, eight years older than me, had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, a mental illness that causes shifts in a person’s mood, energy and ability to function. The illness was so unknown to my family and me, yet it seemed so highly influencial to both her and us. Back when it was all new to us, I wasn't quite a teen, but my older brother was. It wasn't as evident to me how his actions reflected by my sister's diagnosis, but years later as it's ever-so-present in my family, I can see how my actions are completely affected by her life long illness.
I was surprised at how revealing this project was, although I found that the actual results didn't show me much compared to the insight I found. Once I found the topic to research, which was the influence of Bipolar Disorder on teen caregivers, I was instantly inspired0. The results to the questions I came up with, gave me some broad insight to the mental illness topic, but I would have hoped to find a little more about it all through the questions specifically. I learned that the more we give in to caring for the people we care for, the more likely it willbe to define our identity. If there was one thing I learned personally, it was that I must find a balance in learning about myself and learning and caring for my loved ones, like my sister. That is something I will value keeping for the rest of my life.