Alex Gao English 1HP2 Sesky June 3, 2012 Comet Metaphor Seven Ages of Man The painter of the

e universe spread his brush across the canvas, painting splatters of stars and clusters of galaxies. And with the strokes of his brush, he traced a path across the canvas of the night sky the shooting star. It burned brilliantly as it traveled through space, and it finally dropped out of view, over the horizon. I remember watching that very shooting star fall across the sky for the first time, and I found myself making a wish upon a star, as the saying goes. Since I was just a kid, I probably wished for something dumb like a video game, because back then life was just about being happy and having fun. Years later, however, we all find our views on life changing. Now, if I saw the same comet in the sky, I might wish for something different: to find out what my purpose here is, what is in store for me later on, or the solution to any other existential crises that all teens (or at least I) have occasionally. Its only been a couple of years from my childhood to now, but we see through this wish on a shooting star how my views and how everyones views can change so drastically in so short a time. This shooting star is representative of our life and of how its meaning to us changes. The shooting star I saw didnt just spring out of existence. It began not as a brilliant and bright comet, but as a barren piece of rock. When two larger objects, like two planets, crashed into each other, the broken off pieces of rock and metal become asteroids. An asteroid, at first glance, isnt particularly beautiful or valuable it just seems like a chunk of rock. However, scattered inside the asteroid are a wealth of valuable metals and materials like platinum, iron, or

even diamond. Over time, gravity takes these materials and actually draws them down to the center of the asteroid, purifying them and making them more valuable. As infants, we are very much like this asteroid. We have good traits and great potential in us that just hasnt been used yet. However, over time, our environment and our inner will to succeed takes hold. The potential that we have and our surroundings pull in and purify our potential, just as gravity purifies the valuable metals in asteroids. Although as infants, we begin as barren rocks, but with a lot of value in ourselves, just waiting to be found and used. The asteroid, after years and years of drifting around in space, now has a hard rocky core and a huge amount of valuable material inside it. But for years, it has just been drifting, with no direction and no path. The only reason the asteroid is even moving is that is still has momentum from the collision of its two parent planets. As it drifts, the asteroid starts to change on the outside. Extreme cold and extreme heat morph and crack the solid rock around the asteroid. Micrometeorites and other speeding particles of dust smash into the asteroids once smooth surface, giving it craters and other scars. These small impacts shake the asteroid just a bit and push it slightly to a different direction but the mark these impacts make on the asteroid are permanent. No two asteroids face the same impacts, or the same environment. As a result, no two asteroids are the same in appearance. After our infancy, we are like the asteroid, with a smooth and unmarked skin and mind. However, throughout the childhood and teenage years, we start to face our own problems. Some of these problems may be small, like the dust particles that smash into the asteroid. Some may be larger, like the micrometeorites that hit the asteroid. But each and every one of these challenges and experiences, no matter how small or how large, end up permanently affecting our mind and body. Every single child and teen has his or her own personal troubles and difficulties that end up marking them and changing them but these

challenges shape us and make us unique, just as every single impact on the asteroid makes it unique. Soon enough, the asteroid stops drifting in space. By now, it has already been weathered down, pockmarked by meteorite impacts and extreme temperature. It has even accumulated a protective layer of ice and dust. Finally, the asteroid is ready to begin a brand new journey and start a transformation. The asteroid, gripped by the strong gravity of Earth, starts to fly faster through space. While the asteroid drifted aimlessly around our universe before, it now moves with speed and direction towards its end goal, the planet Earth. Nothing can stop it now. During our late teenage and adult years, we are just like this changing asteroid. As a young adult, weve already experienced many challenges in our lives, and gained many new experiences that make us unique individuals, like the asteroid. Some of these experiences may have permanently scarred us, and we might be scared to face those emotions or events again. As a result, we put up mental and emotional barriers around us, just as the asteroid gains a barrier to prevent it from being worn down any further. We also now have a sense of purpose. In our early childhood and teen years, its typical to drift around like the asteroid. But soon enough, we find a goal and a purpose. For every single person, that goal, that motivation is different. Some may find a purpose in a prospective career or college. Some may be driven by starting a family. For the asteroid, gravity is the main influence. As the asteroid enters the earths atmosphere, it begins a miraculous transformation. Right now, the asteroid has a protective barrier. Its true surface is covered with scratches and craters. Deep inside it are purified precious metals. And all of that is about to become something new. Friction in the atmosphere causes the layer of ice to melt, and the water falls down to Earth as rain. The extreme heat friction creates causes the asteroid to glow white hot, producing an

intense white streak of light as it falls to Earth. That streak of light is the shooting star we see and wish upon. Our asteroid is now a shooting star. The shooting star falls down, down, down onto the ground and, in a split second, its gone, disintegrated. The rock and metals of the shooting star become scattered across the globe. Ashes and ashes, and dust to dust. Its strange that this asteroid was formed billions of miles away, billions of years ago, and it happened to reach our earth. This asteroid, formed from the rock of another planet, turned into a shooting star and was absorbed into the rock of planet Earth. People, like the asteroid lose everything as they age. First, they become more open, as their emotional barriers disappear and they start to appreciate those around them. Then, their bodies start to decay as their cells start to fail and they grow older and weaker. But as their bodies become weak, as the rock of the asteroid starts to melt, theyre still strong inside. Their mind still endures, just as the precious metals of the shooting star do not melt. Finally, theres a transformation. Although they are old and aged, and although their bodies are frail, a properly matured person shines ever brightly as they move closer to death. As they accept death and accept life, they shine with wisdom and enlightenment. They become a beacon to the younger generation. Finally, their bodies die and get reabsorbed back into the ground. Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust. Most importantly, though, is the fact that neither shooting star nor people truly die. The old and aged, as their bodies become duller and duller, begin to shine brighter and brighter like the asteroid. The light they impart to the next generation is their legacy, and that never truly dies. As the asteroid plummets towards the earth and becomes a shooting star, moving closer and closer to death, its just a beginning for the children who are wishing upon a star. The death of an asteroid at least for me, marked the birth of a dream and a new cycle of the stages of life.