Alex Schafer

Mrs. Field
LNG 406
18 March 2011
Division/Analysis
There is a small room with a single table and shelves lining one of the
walls. It is very cluttered with thing carelessly tossed about. Despite the ob
vious disorganization, it is always a relatively simple task to find what one ne
eds in the mess. While I appear to be a disorganized person, I strive to mainta
in a necessary degree of organization. I always know where something that I am
looking for is, it may just take me a while to find it.
On the bottom shelf of the book case, providing a strong foundation, a few namel
y books include a lightly used King James Bible with a worn copy of The Origin o
f Species by Charles Darwin and a copy of Steven Hawkinâ s A Brief History of Time on
either side. While the foundation of my beliefs lies in Christianity, religion
is not always the first place that I look when I have a question. I often find
it easier to accept the explanations that come from scientific theory, such as
evolution and the big bang, rather than evidence from biblical stories. Despite
the fact that I accept these theories, I have not abandoned faith. I do believ
e that much of the bible should not be taken literally and is mostly parables.
I believe it to be more a set of advice rather than law, though this certainly d
oes not include items such as the Ten Commandments which I do see as laws that s
hould be followed exactly. Both science and religion provide a strong basis for
my beliefs system.
The next shelf up has a copy of Gold in the Water by Michael Phelps. In
this book, Phelps discusses his training and perseverance in his quest to win e
ight gold medals in the 2008 Olympics. Similar to Phelps, swimming has been a v
ery large part of my life. I have devoted countless hours of my life to it. It
has helped keep me in shape, but more importantly it has given me strong work e
thic and taught me to persevere. The lessons that I have learned from swimming
have translated into other aspects of my life such as school. They have also he
lped my significantly with regards to time management. Next to this book is ano
ther titled A Conservativeâ s Guide to Life with some pages ripped out. While I agre
e with most of the conservative views regarding economics and foreign policy, wh
en it comes to topics such as abortion I do not fully agree. I would consider m
yself to be a moderate conservative because I accept some liberal ideas.
On the next shelf is a 2008-2009 planner with nothing written inside of it. I d
o not like to have a definite plan set out. By not planning I can have flexibil
ity, though this often leads to procrastination. This procrastination, while no
t a good quality, does help to limit the stress associated with school, or at le
ast that is what I tell myself. There is also a book titled 101 Fart Jokes. Wh
ile I have a good sense of humor, it can often be plague by the boyish immaturit
y that is still inside of me. Despite this immaturity, I do try to limit it dep
ending on who I am around.
The next shelf has nine books on it, all of which are heavily used. The
se books include a single history textbook and a physics textbook surrounded by
the Harry Potter series. While I enjoy school, particularly science and history
, I often let pleasure absorb much of my time that would be better used for stud
ying and school work. This also ties into my procrastination. While it is not
the best thing for my school work, I spend time on more entertaining things to d
eal with the enormous amounts of stress I face.
The top shelf has no books on it. This stands for the things that are y
et to come in my life. I try not to fill my life with excess so that there is r
oom for things to come. I make sure not to worry too much about what is happeni
ng at the moment because most things sort themselves out eventually. By not bec
oming overly concerned with things that are going on in my life I am able to fur
ther eliminate stress.