I picked this question because I wanted to discover the real meaning of why we are who we are. Our choices in life are what determines our

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Thomasine Allison
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1 I picked this question because I wanted to discover the real meaning of why we are who we are. Our choices in life are what determines our personality traits and our intelligence. I wanted to learn what factors go into the formation of our individuality and our choices on a day-to-day basis. What makes us as an individual different from the seven billion other people in this world?

2 Our past experiences, positive and negative, define who we are as individuals and affect our daily lives because they influence our decisions. When I first examined this question, I thought that our experiences define who we are because of how other people see us. For example, if I received a bad grade on a test, I thought that my peers would label, or define me, as a poor student. After research, I determined that experiences don t define who other people think we are; instead, they help us define who we are and what actions we should take in the future to help us become the people we want to be. Referring to the example, the experience of obtaining a poor grade should make me strive to do better the next time by studying harder, thus influencing my decision and defining me as a hard-working student.

Summary Analysis Ric Elias, a passenger on Flight 1549 that landed on the Hudson River in 2009, explains three things that were going through his mind during what he thought would be his last minutes.

3 Summary Analysis Ric Elias, a passenger on Flight 1549 that landed on the Hudson River in 2009, explains three things that were going through his mind during what he thought would be his last minutes. He describes the first by making the analogy of I collect bad wines. Figuratively, he is saying if there was a negative past experience, at least he has the knowledge to reflect and not make that decision again. His biggest regret was worrying about things that didn t matter in the grand scheme of life. During the flight, he reflected on what really matters, such as family, and the important relationships that he built with the people around him, which what matters to Ric most of all. His near-death experience has lead him to taking risks and doing the things he loves, because he never knows when his last day will be. This talk clearly portrays the message of living life to its fullest and not sweating the small things in life, both of which he realized when his plane was crashing. As a result of the traumatic experience, his choices in day-to-day life are impacted tremendously. The list of priorities that he crafted on the plane -- being with family, having fun, not worrying-- are now a part of his life at every moment. Because of the standards of which he lives his life today, Elias is a much happier and accomplished person. I was given the gift of a miracle, of not dying that day. I was given another gift, which was to be able to see into the future and come back and live differently. I challenge you guys that are flying today...how would you change (Elias)?

4 Summary Analysis Heaven is for Real is about Colton Burpo s supernatural experience when he was in the hospital at age three suffering from a ruptured appendix, visited Heaven during a surgery to save his life, and how it has impacted his family and their religious beliefs since then. When Colton had began describing detailed items about Jesus and Heaven that went along directly with the Scripture even though he had never been exposed to it, his parents started paying attention. The real amazement began when his mother had a miscarriage before Colton was born and hadn t yet told him, but after his trip to Heaven, he asked his mother about a baby sister. Also, Colton met and described Pop, a grandfather he had never met on Earth, to his dad. Throughout the book, Colton s father describes the impact that Colton s incident had on the Burpo family. Colton s father explains, Colton s story has changed us: we are bolder. We live in a day and time when people question the existence of God I talk about what happened to my son (Burpo 153). Even though his father was a pastor, Colton s experience has influenced his family to be more open and comfortable with their religion. By writing a novel about his son s experience, Todd has shared with the world his beliefs and influenced many that heaven is for real. Everyday, the Burpo family thanks God that their son is still with them after his near-death disaster when he was three, and his miraculous visit to Heaven will always make Colton a special person to all around him.

5 Summary Analysis Emily Dickinson's poem describes a situation in which a person faces a decision of taking another step or to turn back. I stepped from plank to plank. So slow and cautiously; The stars about my head I felt. About my feet the sea. I knew not but the next. Would be my final inch, This gave me that precarious gait. Some call experience. Precarious and cautiously are synonymous with uncertainty. Symbolism is most likely used when she refers to the sea and plank to plank. This poem leaves the reader to wonder if the sea is literally water, or if it is a symbol of something else, perhaps a deeper fear. The last line leaves the reader to wonder what IS her past experience. This poem, only 8 lines long, leaves a lot of interpretations to the reader. The reader can conclude that the experience Emily Dickinson is writing about was painful and negative, which leaves her to question her choice of taking another step ( precarious gait ). Something traumatic happened to her, and she doesn t want it to happen again, which aids in the decision-making process. Humans naturally assess situations based on past situations. Whatever her past experience is, it is influencing her choice of whether or not she should or shouldn t persevere. This poem connects decision-making with fear; if she steps forward, something frightening might lay ahead.

6 Summary Analysis Leigh Newman is a mom who is naturally unorganized, however she is married to a perfectionist. This memoir is about her realizing her faults while on a camping trip. While on the excursion, she organizes every last detail of the trip and makes her kids abide by strict camping rules. She starts to become frustrated with her husband, who gives off a go with the flow attitude while she was stressing over minute elements. After she returns to reality and realizes that she is not in the Alaska wilderness but a local campground, she understands her husband s demeanor and how she was being too much of a perfectionist in this situation. She comes to realize that the real meaning of her vacation was to relax and have fun with her kids. As the rain fell and our mediocre fire smoked, I couldn t help wondering about perfectionism in general Maybe perfectionism of this kind is just a way of announcing what is that you love in life just by doing it with your most obsessive attention (Newman 60). Not only did she learn something about herself and life in general on the camping trip, but she will use this life lesson about perfection throughout the rest of her life when she makes her choices. Before the trip, she was disheveled and unorganized, and during the trip, in a struggle to make things go off without a hitch, she lost the fun in everything. Instead of trying to make certain things perfect in the future, she will think back to this experience in the woods and try to understand the real meaning of what she sets out to do.

All four artifacts portray the same theme, or the thesis to my big question, which was that our experiences define our individuality by influencing our decisions.

A nonfiction account about the supernatural dream Colton Burpo experienced and how it has affected the lives of people all around him.

Leigh Newman shares life lessons that she learns while on a camping trip and how it has changed her life.

7 All four artifacts portray the same theme, or the thesis to my big question, which was that our experiences define our individuality by influencing our decisions. 3 Things I Learned When My Plane Crashed Elias teaches the items he lives his life by, which he learned during the traumatic event of his plane crash-landing. A nonfiction account about the supernatural dream Colton Burpo experienced and how it has affected the lives of people all around him. Heaven is for Real Experience Emily Dickinson ponders whether or not to move forward after she reminisces about a past experience that caused fear. Leigh Newman shares life lessons that she learns while on a camping trip and how it has changed her life. Outside, Looking In It is obvious that our choices in our life determine who we are in society. We can be the hard worker, or the person who doesn t care. Humans are constantly worried about other people s judgments and definitions of them, but if we define ourselves first by making the right decisions and setting our individual standards and morals, we can overcome those labels. To relate this back to my question, our experiences during our childhood have an influence on who we are as people because an experience aids in the decision-making process that every human goes through every day. By learning from past mistakes, we raise our standards and morals, acknowledging the difference from right and wrong. Understanding right and wrong is crucial to defining ourselves the way we want to be defined.

8 Burpo, Todd. Heaven is for Real. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Print. Dickinson, Emily. "Experience (Dickinson)." Collected Classic Poems, Coleridge To Gascoigne (2012): 1. Poetry & Short Story Reference Center. Web. 8 Mar Elias, Ric. "3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed." TED2011 Conference. Mar Lecture. Web. 8 Feb Newman, Leigh. "Outside, Looking In." Real Simple Aug. 2013: Print. Swift, Taylor. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Red. Sony Music, CD. For additional links, visit:

Testimony. I grew up in a Christian home. As a young child I knew that Jesus was the son of

Testimony. I grew up in a Christian home. As a young child I knew that Jesus was the son of Dawn Dietz 1 Testimony I. My life before Christ I grew up in a Christian home. As a young child I knew that Jesus was the son of God and that He was the only way to get to Heaven. My grandma played a big