John Burns

Mrs. Paquin
ERWC
04/28/16
Integrity Analogy
Introduction
My name is John Webster Burns IV and Im a student currently attending Great Oak High
School in Temecula, California. What I want to express to you is the fire that burns deep within
me, the very thing that I carry around with me everywhere that has had a way of bringing
warmth and compassion to those around me. This here is who I am.
The Spark: Structure
My family is the ignition of my life, the spark that was the first to establish the basis for
who I am. My mother grew up in Long Beach, California and my father was raised in Pawtucket,
Rhode Island and they met at ABC Prosthetics Company in Orlando, Florida. They got married
and moved west to California when I was 18 months old, approximately 15 years ago. My dad
was a Prosthetist but after being laid off had to settle for being a truck driver for Fed Ex in order
to keep our house. While this was going on my mom did as best she could getting a job working
with special ed children which she loves doing but it doesnt really bring together the largest
income. This taught me to remain flexible and adaptive when situations in my life dont go
exactly as planned.

Concerning my siblings Im a middle child, one younger sister and one older brother.
Although it was rather easy to upset him, my brother has always had an amazing sense of humor
knowing how to bring sarcasm to the conversation at just the right time. We never had that
brotherly love hate relationship; we held respect for one another and stayed out of each others
hair for the most part. My sister on the other hand always found her way into my business and
although in the moment it was annoying with her hugging me and wanting to be around me, in
hind sight it deeply established the strong brother sister relationship we have today.
The Light: Style
The light is what guides my way through uncertainty or any sort of issue; those that
represent my light are friends, art and exercise.
Friends: Now Im not talking about the people you met once at a community service event, or
had a class with them and carried on skin deep conversations with, Im talking about those in my
life that I know will be there for me no matter what. The people I can firmly call my brothers and
sisters who I hold the utmost respect and loyalty to. Ive come to realize with experiencing loss
of friendships there is a strength Ive come across in appreciating those who never let me stay
sad for too long because they are the ones that give me the strength to come back from anything
and will cherish for the entirety of my life. Coming to the end of senior year, many are burning
bridges at the thought of them dissipating out of college and career based separation, some cant
imagine the idea of being miles away from their best friend who they have grown with and watch
grow over the course of these four years, but I cant accept either of those coping techniques. I
have a strong belief that when we all go our separate ways, that distance wont faze us, as a
matter of fact it just may give us more to talk about, more to engage on with the involvement in a

new stage of our lives. The way I look at leaving my old friends and finding others is that I
cant replace the personality types and quirky attitudes of my old friends and we all have to be
alright with that, I see finding new friends as just different friends. Ive come this far from being
a kid to almost an adult where I never fully replaced my old friends, I just found equally amazing
unique people I call family that I love being around.
Art: I wasnt born with the ability to draw and transfer a mental image through my hand onto a
canvas; I was born with the creative style of thinking that has always motivated me in making
decisions or completing tasks. Its a passion of mine that was established at a young age. It
wasnt ever a talent, artistic ability isnt, but it was a skill that I had to develop over time and
practice examining the details of the world around me at every opportunity I had. Its a way for
me to express myself in a way words never could and it has been there as a way to channel my
emotions in a productive way.
Exercise: Running, lifting weights and other physical activities has been an in-the-background
passion but was always there in my subconscious. Over the course of my life I have participated
in the hobby of parkour (climbing and jumping over things), dancing, and Cross country. Finding
the strength to go workout has never been an issue of mine and I find it enjoyable just to mark
and observe my progress as I get physically stronger and mentally disciplined. But with this sort
of lifestyle I have latched onto it also serves as a way to leave behind my worries and stress and
just lose myself in working hard at something and knowing at least in the sense of getting
stronger that Im doing something right.
The Heat: Cohesion

My artistic ability is what brings who I am together and the more I reflect on it the more I
see that my creative nature is a large part of my motivation to go above the bare minimum
requirements in everyday tasks. It instills flexibility and divergent thinking, never being totally
backed up against a corner and holding the confidence that I can get out of or overcome any
issues that arise. My artistic thought process also prevents me from ever fully accepting societal
norms, I see there to be a way for me to place my imprint of individuality and uniqueness in
everything I do.
Constant Kinetic Energy: Strength
Although I do get lazy time to time just as anyone else does, my undying enthusiastic
nature and internal motivation to accomplish goals I set out to achieve has been a part of me ever
since I was born. Just like fire is a raging source of kinetic energy I too hold that spirit of wanting
to give everything my all with eagerness and constant interest in things that I can manage if I put
my mind to it.
Oxygen: Durability
The source of everlasting life for a strong flame is the amount of oxygen it has. Too little
and the flame dissipates, so there has to be a wide open environment and way of thought to
combat the idea of ones flame dying out. Many objects in this world lose effect in motivating
yourself and relying on others establishes a sense of dependency which may falter when you
need help the most in preserving the integrity of your life plan. As a reflection of that I see a set
of moral guidelines holding out most against the obstacles life throws at us. I know with all
conflicting opinions this world will never be able to fully exist in peace but I know that what I
can do is never let my own belief in my goals and dreams diminish because its all I have.

Movement and Flicker: Direction

The people that empower me to move my plan forward is and always will be my friends
and its because they support me morally than my parents do. Video game design and Animation
is a huge industry at the moment and is only getting bigger, with that competition is fierce and
although my parents care for and love me they fear I may not make it in that field. I cant accept
that as a possibility so when the time comes my friends are those I turn to in motivating me when
those I look up to dont. A lot of what I want to achieve is also on me, Im making the
conscientious decision to follow my passion no matter what and it constantly moving just as a
flame does as my way to success. Fire is always moving up and up, focusing on unrelenting
forward movement so that change and eventual prosperity is possible.