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         Supposedly, there is an intellectual journey that all ‘adolescents’ undertake.  Some people call it the “coming of age,” while others talk about how we must identify who we really are.  This summer, sitting outside on my porch, I’m confronted with an interesting question.  I am 23, and in the eyes of the law, my parents and my friends, I am an adult.  Still, I hardly feel like an adult, and I certainly do not know who I really am.  I’m alive, that much is for certain.  The sun warms me, I hear the breeze- I am certainly alive.  But who am I?  That’s an entirely different question, one who’s answer is still as enigmatic as ‘who is God?’

                It is possible that who you are is a sudden revelation.  The idea of a coming of age seems to imply that suddenly, without warning, we are rushed to the precipice of adulthood, and are given an understanding of our life, who we are in relation to it, and the purpose-laden path we are to follow.  As appealing as that idea is to me, as I sit here, it occurs to me that this is really an unlikely event.  Though we may experience concise moments of clarity in our lives, it seems unlikely that order would suddenly be made from the chaos of our lives.  It seems far more likely, that as we age we experience small moment of clarity, trials and peace, and that how we react to those small moments will determine for us our impact on the world and people around us.

                In a way, this website is a small part of my impact on the world.  I like to think of each action we choose- from turning left or right at a stop light to speaking kindly to someone in distress- as a ripple on the surface of our existence, a ripple which may well extend, slowly, gracefully, across the rippling face of the world.  This website is in fact a way for things I’ve done to reach others- another virtual ripple.  In it, you will find exhibits- various pieces I’ve written set in context.  First you will find the assignment explained, then the assignment itself, and finally a reflection. 

                It’s both a strange and wonderful thing when you consider the ripples- the coincidences- that have led you up to any point in your life.  One by one, rippling into the next, had led me to this point, sitting here, writing this reflection.  Placing my portfolio online could lead to a thousand others- or none at all.  If it were not for my ENG4950 course, I would not have this portfolio online, if it were not for my professor Neal Haldane, I would not have taken this class this summer, and so forth and so on.

        Rather than coming to a sudden understanding of myself and the world around me- the ebb and the flow of life- I’m content to touch the world in a purposeful manner, and watch the ripples extend from my fingertips.