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This Old House Essay Paper

Immortality By: Kevin Valdivia DeVry University Professor: Barbara Monaghan

Immortality Whenever I engage in a conversation with someone, most of the time, if I were to use an example to make a point, statement, or opinion, I usually refer back to my past and pick an experience in life that I encountered, and in the end, I would feel nostalgic, and satisfied that my statement was made. I wonder why I do that. At first I thought that maybe I am obsessing too much of my past because I prefer my method of living as a child since theres less responsibility needed, but then I realized that I needed to have appreciation for everything in life in the present. I also realized that I like referencing my past for present opinions because some of the most valuable things I learned in life came from my past experiences and the spaces around them, as well as the people involved. Those fond memories aid me with my current memories and experiences to move forward and to perceive new experiences with wisdom and knowledge. Not everyone would agree with me in looking back to the past for present guidance. Some may detest their past because of a horrible experience, or because the spaces around them were negative in influence to the person recalling those not-so-pleasant memories. I believe we can learn from even the worst of our past experiences. In Westbury Court, Danticats neighbor who lost her children for reasons we may never know, left her children alone in the apartment and unfortunately died from the raging fires. Even a tragic event like that can teach someone to be wiser in how you should be protective of your children. And we can all learn from such lessons. While the experience is something we can only imagine, we can learn to understand and learn from the lesson all the same. We should learn to take the good from the bad in all things, especially our life experiences. Something tragic can make a person more strong of heart and stronger in general for it.

While we do look back to our past for guidance, its also the spaces around them that are just as important. If I were to walk past by my first public school I attended, I will easily recall the first bully I ever encountered, and the overwhelming lessons I learned from my first encounter with him. I recall one day after school that he tried to push me around physically and insult me with names for simply getting attention from the teachers for being a smart student. I recall clearly trying to violently punch him, and he simply ran away with immense fear in his eyes. While I didnt hurt him, I learned that day two things. One, it is very easy to hurt someone, and two, that while I could have easily beat him to leave me alone, I could imagine another solution where I get involved in his life and find a solution where it wouldnt have involved me attempting to injure him with the fury of the world in my fists. I look back to that school, and while I despise my past actions, I learned from them and they helped me grow in a way that I should never forget those past lessons. Its the most impactful, meaningful, and important memories that stay in our hearts, mind, and soul. The important life experiences we encounter, stick with us because they teach us important lessons that we take to heart, and we practice our lessons in the hopes that we better ourselves as individuals. In Joyce Carols They all just went away, Joyce witnessed tragedy in Ruths life and had maternal feelings of wanting to protect her because she experienced so much bad experiences. Joyces memories of Ruth living a nightmare taught her a few lessons that more than likely influenced her to want to protect Ruth. Likewise, I would want to avoid violence whenever I possibly can unless necessary in the most extreme circumstances. Walking past the public school always

As individuals I believe that our personalities, character, actions, and our very souls are influenced by our experiences, our memories, and the spaces involved. As such, we reflect it through our actions, and personality. As a fellow reader of Japanese Comics, watcher of classic American movies, and anime, and as an open-minded individual, I can say with pride that my past childhood experiences shaped me into who I am today. Everyone has their own unique way of perceiving themselves and the worlds spaces around them, but in the end, as individuals, we are all our own. As shown in Judiths Silent Dancing, we can also experience life as a family. Thus we share our life lessons in a way where we can rely upon another person, and his or her own memories, and guidance. Our memories of our past experiences reflect who we are because we are the ones learning from our past errors. We made mistakes, and we make sure we dont make similar mistakes again. And if we are going to make a mistake, fully knowing it, then we should strive to make sure the lessons that can be learned from the coming mistake will project the lessons to as many other individuals as possible. Sometimes we cant understand the thoughts and behavior of other individuals simply because they act and respond differently from those who encountered similar experiences. Sometimes we judge a book by its cover without reading it. No matter how different one person may seem, we should at least try to respect their opinions as well as try to understand where they are coming from. By learning to comprehend others, and attempt to understand our backgrounds, we may learn even more valuable lessons.

In This Old House by David Sedaris, I cant help but find a sense of respect for David. While true his behavior is very random, erratic, and view of things is different from the majority of society, the reader can deduce that David has a longing to find a place where he belongs. He seemed to me like and individual looking for a place to belong and to call his own home. His erratic style could also possibly be a method for other individuals to recognize his silly style and recognize his assertive behavior of being different. I myself can be very different from others too, I can imagine. I can imagine running into another individual who has never encountered an act of kindness from another individual and consider me weird for actually showing an act of kindness. An event such as this can very easily happen to anyone. In the end, its our memories, and the lessons and spaces within them that really help us move forward, on top of whatever guiding light that we have. Because of our memories living in our hearts, minds and soul, no one will ever be able to take those away from us. Even if we lose our memories of amnesia or other circumstance, our character will have been influenced by our past experiences. If I lost all my past memories, I will more than likely still retain my instinct of wanting to avoid violent measures if at all possible. Our life lessons become imbedded within us. They can no longer be destroyed. In that sense, our memories are immortal. No matter what, they will always remain. And even memories can be passed on to another individual. All we have to do is tell our story. The essays Ive read told us the authors stories and their memories and the lessons and spaces that came with it. People have their own immortal stories to tell, and I am more than willing to lend an ear to hear it.