Who am I

1. A book that made a lasting impression on me was Mark Twain's Seminal regionalist novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as Twain in his masterful writing sparked in me an internal discussion in which I challenged the way I thought about my own identity in relation to southern culture as a whole. This novel made me think about how the other regions of the country perceive us and what we can do to better our reputation as a backwards, backwoods, people. The south is a culturally rich place with a long and not necessarily pretty history, but a vast majority of us southerners are all trying to make a better future for ourselves, our state, our culture, and our nation. I've realized that through living by Webb's honor code and motto, and by striving to be a young person that is a tireless worker that knows how to work effectively etc... that I can help do my part to achieve Twain's vision of greatness and reputation for our region and culture. In short this book was a great introspective thought provoking novel that has helped me on my ongoing journey as a young adult to figure out my place in the world.

2. I'm only 17, so I don't know if I my opinion of my identity or future is really considered valid yet. I know where I've come from in life, and this will probably have a role in shaping where I go, but I'm very unsure of everything at this point. I want to take my Chinese language learning that began at Webb to build on and perhaps be an interpreter one day. I'm thinking about going where I consider home for college (The good ol' Sunshine State) but I'm also thinking about doing military service before going to college. As I said although I'm in the process of coming to decisions really quick I'm still trying to make sure what I'm interested in is really what I'm interested in. I've only really changed my mind twice in my life about what I wanted to do so I feel like I'm sure of myself. This answer is very stream of consciousness style so I apologize for that but I feel like that's an accurate description of how I feel. Although I am still in my decision making and self discovering phase of life, one thing I know from observation and reasoning is that by taking these things I've learned at Webb with regard to personal character I'll be able to take myself as far as I can in my work, higher education, and life.

Comments

  1. mRs. BeRZinSkASAugust 23, 2019 at 2:06 PM

    I am sorry it has taken me so long to grade this! Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is life changing for so many in so many ways. I think you have an interesting take-away from it. I must admit (sadly) that before I moved to the South I had a genuine misconception of Southern life and culture. I was ill-informed and inexperienced about what life is like here. I've lived in several places in Europe and the Midwest. I must say that living here is my favorite! I am glad you are working on correcting the Southern stereotype. People are missing out!
    As for you number 2, I did not know you last year and am only getting to know you now, but I was very impressed when you sang that beautiful Chinese song on your guitar in Chapel last year. From what I have observed in you so far, I have no doubt that wherever you go, you'll go far!

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