December 12, 2014
Reflection Paper
Com 111

“A widely bright red apple had accidently tumbled in, and was bobbing amongst a dozen green tomatoes.” At age twenty-two, Mark Hunter’s life changed for the better. This accident let him see life from a different perspective. As he sees it which one would you choose to be? Would you want to be the apple or the tomatoes? When he asks that question, he means would you rather be like everyone else or would you be that one individual who’s not like everyone else. I find his answer very interesting and also meaningful. I feel as if Mark Hunter is saying to be water is to the greatest thing because without water nothing or no one can survive. Water is the source of everything.
If I had to choose to be the tomatoes, apple or water, I would go the other route and choose to be the apple. I would choose to be the apple simply because it is not a tomato. To be an apple surrounded by tomatoes goes to show that not everyone has to be the exact same way. Everyday there is someone who feels like the apple of the group. That could be a good or a bad thing. In my personal life it is both. I say both because as a child it was you were like everyone else or you were weird. I have never been the smallest or the cutest girl. In elementary and middle school I was bigger than most of my female classmates. And when I say bigger I mean my shoulders were broader and my hips were fuller. Basically I was already an athlete in training. A lot of the guys in school would call muscle girl or even say I was a man, which when you are a child in grade school hurt. Being accepted by every kid in your class is what most young children would want, but you can’t be accepted if you’re not like everyone else. As I got older the jokes weren’t as intense as they had been in grade school. I basically started to embrace my broadness and use it to my advantage. I got involved in more sports and became very cool with many of my classmates and more people who attended my school. So being the apple in a sink full of tomatoes might start of as being a bad thing to you because you are not like everyone else, but you can turn it in to something great, which is what I did.
When applying this metaphor to me as a student and speaker it’s a little different from my personal life. Academically I am just as bright as everyone I know. School has always been a big part of my like because I know education is key. We are all a bunch of tomatoes in the sink full of water, but somewhere in this world there is an apple floating among us. Being the tomato is not a bad thing as a student. I apply myself to everything even when I have no clue what I am doing. Math is one of my toughest subjects and I know a lot of people who have the same problem. In that case I am not the apple because there are many people that are not as smart in math as others.
At the beginning of this communication class I felt like I was the apple of the class. I absolutely hated speaking in front of people and it kind of showed when we had to do our different speeches. Everyone else in the class looked as if they were comfortable talking in front of a number of people looking directly at them. I was nervous and I was scared. Feeling as if you are the odd one out is what I felt when it came to speaking. As we moved forward in this class it started to get more comfortable as we progressed. Being that this is a speech class, its helps you not only in school but life in general. Being able to speck well publicly can enhance your reputation, boost your self-confidence and open up countless opportunities. For example, you might be asked to make a speech at a friend's wedding, give a eulogy for a loved one, or inspire a group of people. These skills are not just for school; communication skills will also help you improve your future career relationships.
As I read this speech, I like how you could visualize the events that occurred as he was telling his story. I could really imagine him having that conversation with his grandmother simply because I could see it the same way with my grandmother and me. I also like how he describes water. He says water is liquid love and when he says that I automatically know exactly what it means. Water is the essential to all humanity and love is as well.
It took a lot of courage to speak out and tell his perception on life after what happen to him. The speech doesn’t tell you what exactly cause him to be navel level to people, but when doing some research I did find out what happen to him. The reason I feel as if he won this speech is because it takes special character to make it so far in life accustom to a certain life style and then have to commit to a completely different process of doing it all again from a different stand point. Not only is it outstanding but it is very encouraging. Not many people can go through the hard times and tragedies and encourage many people to see life from a different point of view. The best part about it all is that Mark Hunter doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him because he was once like everyone else.
Everyone has a different way of viewing their life and the life of other people. What might be a struggle for some people may not be the same struggle for someone else. My influences that help the way I interpret my world would be my parents, morals and values and experience. My parents and family are my biggest influences as to why I view my world. They are an influence because when you are a child your parents tell you what is and what should be. Parents shape you to be this great person but when you get out on your own you are going to have to see the “real world”. My parents made sure that I could have a good life, be a great person, and an outstanding student. When I look at other people who are less fortunate than me, automatically I want to do something to help. And that is a part of morals and values that my parents always taught me and that is why they are such a great influence on my view of my world.