I just finished reading Barack Obama's first book, "Dreams From My Father." If you haven't read this book, I strongly suggest you pick it up. This is definitely one of the best books I've read all year. He captures so many emotions that I have thought about time and time again when it comes to family and identity in this country. While his experiences are vastly different from mine (I was born in New York to black American parents; he in Hawaii to a white American mom and a Kenyan father), the emotions and confusion that comes along with finding your true purpose in life resonated loudly within. I have been struggling for months with trying to define my purpose in life. I feel that in some capacity I am supposed to make a difference in the world but how? What is my next step? I will not say that by the end of the 453 pages, I knew exactly what I was meant to do in life. However, it was reassuring to read that such a prominent figure in our times struggled with some of the same things I am facing. I sometimes feel like my life is stuck on PAUSE. I can't press PLAY until I figure out my next move. I see people around me building their careers, starting families, and I think to myself "Ooh I want that". But how can I when I can't build a career I don't even have and starting a family at this juncture in my life would be foolish and reckless. I'm ready to press PLAY and move FORWARD. I just have to find that damn remote control.