In this special, hear the voices of journalism students from the University of Missouri. They know that figuring out who you are isn't as easy as it sounds. They were challenged in their magazine writing capstone class to tell stories from their lives that have helped shape who they are. With help from their teacher and master-storyteller, Berkley Hudson, they recount stories from first loves and first tattoos to losses that touched their lives.
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For many of people, happiness comes and goes just like any other emotion. Living happily can be a tall order. MU senior Thom Dixon reflects on his time with one such perpetually happy person, his high school English teacher, and how his example has encouraged others to live happiness, not just feel it.
A lot of things can stand in between a college student and a degree. For some, it's grades. For others, it's money. But, for AnDrea Jackson's sister, it was a kidney. Jackson recounts how she, her sister, and her family have dealt with this ongoing obstacle.
It's easy to assume celebrities have it "all together." But, as Megan Armstrong found out, not having all the answers is a problem that plagues even the least likely of suspects. Hear how her experience with an NFL player helped shape her own journey of self-acceptance.
Sometimes life isn't always smooth-sailing. Carson Kohler remembers a summer afternoon she and her brother decided to go sailing -- against their father's wishes.
As we get older, many of us begin to evaluate the long-held beliefs that we formed as children. Sometimes we accept them more fully, other times we reject them all together. But, for Christian Clark, it wasn't just about changing his own beliefs, but navigating how his new ideas conflicted with his mom's.
Could you cut eggs, milk, cheese and meat out of your diet? Carolin Lehmann and her roommate embarked on this challenge last year - going vegan. She found out that it really is as difficult as it sounds, and her quest turned it to a week-long battle between discipline and dairy.
Sophia Conforti's love of art has always been in contrast to her love of her own body. Seeing the beautiful forms painted by famous artists fascinated her, but never created a sense of beauty in herself. That is until she made her body a piece of artwork.
High school sports are partially used as an avenue to equip students for real-world challenges. MU sports journalism senior Kevin Modelski discusses how his high school wrestling career transformed his character and has continued to affect his perspective towards life's difficulties.
MU senior Jessica Vaughn always knew she was adopted. She even had some contact with her birth father, mostly in the form of yearly presents. But eventually, opening those presents also opened questions about her heritage, and where she came from.
Sarah Walsh didn't have the long-awaited coming out story of some of her millennial LGBTQ peers, but that didn't mean it wasn't inevitable. She reflects on her journey of self-discovery that included Jesus, Jedi-Knights and belated realization.
At a young age, Max Havey got the unique experience of a bad movie teaching him a good lesson -- other than to not watch it again. He looks back at how Watchmen got him thinking of much bigger issues than heroes and villains.
Usually at 21, the scariest thing in your life is an impending graduation from college and entrance into the workforce. For MU senior Matthew Patston, the scariest thing he faced was trying to make a girlfriend a fiancee.
Technology is always at our fingertips. The digital world is often just a swipe or tap away. But, as Lauren Rutherford has found out, this constant connectedness has its downfalls.
You are what you wear -- or at least that's how Grace Pinegar feels. But after years of this mentality, she tried to figure out how to separate her self-worth from her outfit of the day.