Journal 40 - My Self

In class, and also outside of class through homework, we have been searching for Walt Whitman's definition of his Self. We have come to the conclusion that although his poetry may be repetitive at times, boring at times, and quite obscene a lot of the time, that Whitman's Self was broken into three categories. The first was his soul. The second was his inner self. And his third was the real him. I think if I were to assess my Self, there would be way more than just three parts to me. The things that make me myself are first, my parents. They have had the biggest impact on my life because they taught me to walk, talk, read, and so many other things. Then there would be my friends who also influence me in many ways and teach me things I do not know. A third piece would be Danbury, Iowa. That small town of three hundred and thirty people has had a giant impact on my life. I can handle the small towns, the conservative farmers, and the boring-ness. I spent the first twelve years of my life there. I learned practically every thing in my life in that small town and it is a part of. Then there are the obvious things, like my thoughts that make me me. People may be able to influence others, but the part that no one can control is one's mind. This is the strongest thing in the world that no one has control of. There is the way I act, the things I do, the reactions I make that make me me. It is because of these motions I make that give people an idea of who I actually am. A large part of me is death. I am not saying that I have had a lot of deaths in my family, but I have had a few. Like my Grandma who died before a time I can remember. My uncle Buzz. My Aunt Sue. Things like these made me grow in my relationships and made me hold on to the few close ones that I share with people.