I once read a quote that said "I am the combination of everyone I've ever met." To me this quote relates to the question because our experiences, from the worst day of your life to the best, build who we are as a person. They in a way identify us and over time define us. An example would be Chris Mccadless who's experiences in college and 12 years of education before that helped him decide to drastically change his life.
A single decision can change your life forever and not always in a good way. An example would be Amir who lived a fairytale life until he decided to not help his friend in need. Amir eventually goes on to move to America and get married but even after his life seems perfect he stil can't erase what he did to Hassan. Still many many years later the decision he made the day of the kite race effects him.

The best advice I was ever given was right after I left private school and had an empty summer with nothing planned. My uncle told me to use my free time to travel and see different parts of the world. Luckily for me my parents agreed and let me choose a destination. I chose Australia and New Zealand and the next year I chose South Africa. These trips have changed who I am as a person and through my travels I have learned about different cultures and how countries work. I always think back to my uncle opening up the idea of travel for me and I always am glad he gave me the speech. I can't imagine my life without traveling and will always do my best to continue seeing the world.

http://www.amazon.com/Sports-Illustrated-Cheerleaders-Adventures-Reilly/dp/B002GJU1Y8/ref=pd_sim_b_2

-In my book each chapter is a new story, it has a chicken soup format, which I love. Every story is at most three pages long but each one still has an impact on readers some way or another. I love how Rick Reilly can bring readers to the event he's writing about and make them feel like they were part of the experience.

-The characters in the novel show a strong presence in people's lives, whether its showing someone how to throw a curve ball or a NBA star doing community service each character in Rick's book has a desire to do some good in the world.

- "You think it's hard coaching in the final four? You think it's tough handling 280-pound seniors, freshmen with agents, athletic directors with pockets full of pink slips? Please. Try coaching seventh-grade girls"
This quote is a typical start to a story by Reilly, humorous but interesting at the same time. He makes it difficult to not continue reading because just the opening sentence causes readers to wonder. What IS it like to coach 7th grade girls?

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For my road trip I would go visit one of the last continents i have yet to explore, Europe. I have gone to my top two travel destinations that i wanted to visit the past two summers but somehow I have never been directly across the pond to Europe. I would start by taking a plane to Spain and tour Barcelona, Madrid, and the beautiful beaches of Spain. I then would go to England and Paris to see what they are like. Next I would travel to the Netherlands and experience the fun culture of Amsterdam and the warm friendliness of the locals. Then I would go to Italy and try some pizza and pasta. From there it would be onward to France to see if the French really are stuck up and annoying. Then I would travel to Switzerland and look at the giant mountains there. I would then end my trip flying to Ireland and hoping it's not raining for once. I would take my seven best friend with me.

i expect this story is going to have a lot more action then our previous novel and will be a great adventure. It will be full of wonder and excitement as we read about a young man who decides to see what his continent has to offer. I think the main character will show impulsive behavior and interesting qualities.

Goals

1) Over the past semester my greatest success was completing my college applications and getting them sent in. The drive to get into college enabled me to do this. There is no reason to continue my success because I already got into college.
2) I would have tried to get some small homework assignments in that I foolishly missed. I will try to complete them more frequently this semester.
3) English: Keep up the B average I have accumulated over the past 2 quarters.
School: Just keep up the good work and coast towards the finish line.
In general: Appreciate the next couple of months as the are the last months of high school.

The Narrators quest for self-realization was a much different path then I am taking as he had to be kicked around from place to place before finally coming to the conclusion that life is to be lived not controlled. I have been lucky enough to live in a society that accepts all races which has made my self-realization process a lot easier to accomplish. The Narrator ends the novel in a depths of Harlem with an understanding on how life works. In this point in my life I would like to think that I have a good understanding of who I am and what my identity is. I am a college bound student at this point with (hopefully) a bright future ahead of me. I have a lot to learn but I feel like I have a solid grasp on how the world works and consider myself a educated individual when it comes t world views and try not to be single minded by realizing that America is just one country out of thousands and that there is more to this world then the United States.