Morgan Davis

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1101-101
16 September 2014
In the beginning I was having a hard time figuring out what to write about. Once I got
started it got a little easier, but in parts I still feel like I am rambling a little bit and that it
does not have much structure to it. As I was writing I found it hard to stick to the topic
and not get carried away into my personal beliefs, especially on the topic of violence and
fighting. I also ran out of ideas to write about so suggestions are welcome.
I Will Be The Change
Growing up I read a lot; I went through my elementary schools entire set of Junie
B. Jones, Magic Tree House, and The Boxcar Children series that the library had. I also
had my parents order about twelve or so books from the Andrew Lost series. I got into
mystery books at a very young age and I guess that is part of my influence for wanting to
be a detective or police officer, as well as the fact that my mom used to work for the
C.I.A. I was always encouraged to read by my parents, but they never forced it on me so I
read because I enjoyed it. Up until high school I loved to read because I got to pick what I
wanted and I had more free time, but once I got to high school and got involved with
sports and honors/AP classes it was hard to find the time to read something that actually
interested me.
I would have to say the three books that had the most impact/influence on me
overall would be Shiloh, The Outsiders, and The Help. Shiloh was a big influence
because at the time I was younger and I could not grasp the fact that someone could be so

cruel to their pet, in fact I still cannot grasp it, but after reading that book I remember
asking my mom several times if we could go get a beagle so I could name him Shiloh. To
this day I still want a beagle named Shiloh. I think the reason this book has stuck with me
for so long is because of the fact that I am an animal lover and I hate to see mistreated
animals, like Shiloh was in the novel, so now every time I see a starving or beaten animal
I immediately relate it to Shiloh and I just want to take care of him/her. That is also
another reason why my mom does not like to take me to the pet store because I always
end up wanting to adopt one of the animals.
I read The Outsiders sometime in middle school and it stood out to me because I
could relate. In middle school cliques started to form and I was always on the outside
because I was always quiet so I never fit in anywhere other than the soccer and basketball
teams. Even though I was part of the teams I rarely hung out with them outside of
practice unless it was a team event because of how quiet I was. I know the situations are
different, but the concept is the same, so now whenever I see an outsider I try to
befriend them or at least introduce myself to them. The main message I got out of the
book was that no matter where you come from, what your social status is, or how many
friends you have, it is always important to accept them for who they are.
Music is also another thing that has impacted my life. Ever since I was a little girl
my parents played music for me to go to sleep to. That was the beginning of my love for
music. When people ask me what my favorite genre is or who my favorite artist is I
cannot give them a single answer because I listen to all types of music. On my phone,
which Ive only had for a few months, I have fourteen genres and one hundred and
seventy-five artists. If I was forced to narrow it down, a few of my top artists would be

Michael Jackson, John Mayer, and P!nk. Their work stands out to me because they write
music that people can relate to and from personal experiences.
I began listening to P!nk in middle school and ever since then I have been hooked.
I guess what speaks to me about her music is that it is raw, each song has a personal
meaning to her and I like that about her. Even though I cannot relate to every song I can
appreciate where she is coming from. I did not get into John Mayers music until around
my junior year of high school, but now he is one of my top played artists. Like P!nk his
music is raw and his music is relatable. His song Waiting On the World to Change is
one of my favorites by him because it has an important message behind it. At the end of
the song there is a line that says, One day our generation is gonna rule the population so
we keep on waiting, waiting on the world to change. To me that is the most powerful an
important line of the song because for me there is a lot of meaning behind it. I look at the
world today and at times it just disgusts me to be a part of it. We fight, kill, and hate each
other for no reason. I cannot stand watching the news because there is always a story
about violence. Like Rodney King I wish we could all just get along and this song speaks
to me for that reason because I feel like more people in my generation feel similar to how
I do. Of course not everyone, but a lot of people I have associated with, in high school
and some people I have already met here, have some of the same thoughts that I do about
wishing there was less hatred and killing going on. This is why when I become a police
officer I am going to encourage less lethal methods of apprehending a suspect. There are
way too many cases in which an officer kills a suspect, when in reality a shot to injure or
Taser is all that was needed.

Michael Jackson is probably the most influential artist that I listen to. I know
there is a lot of controversy with him, but he is much more than that. Even when he was
not doing well financially he still found the time and put in the effort to raise money for
sick children and set up scholarship funds. He also co-wrote the song We Are the
World with Lionel Richie to help raise money to fight famine in Africa. I wish more
people still did this, and it is something I will do when I get a stable income. His songs
Black or White and Man in the Mirror also had an effect on me because they were
personal, he was not just righting them because the lyrics sounded cool, but because they
had meaning to them and as clich as it sounds listening to his music makes me want to
become a better person and actually make a difference in the world.
Overall the impact music and books have had on my life have been tremendous. I
feel like music has had more of an impact because I can listen to it whenever I want so it
is more accessible. However, I wish I had more time to read on the side because there are
so many books that I want to read that I have not gotten the chance to read yet, such as
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Fahrenheit 451, and The Catcher in the Rye. Both
reading and music have helped me to form who I am and figure out what is important to
me. Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong generation because I am more about
peace and love than most people are nowadays.