Student 26

Lego Piece:

Personal experience and knowledge have an intertwined relationship, as knowledge is heavily reflective of personal experience, thus showing how the two depend on each other. An object that is representative of this situation for me is a Lego piece that I placed in my nose when I was two years old. This Lego piece had to be removed by a doctor and was later given back to my family after the procedure.

As a result from this experience of sticking the Lego up my nose, I was taught the purpose of Lego sets, and the practical uses they had for engineering and innovating ideas, not for sticking up my nose. Not only did this experience provide me with the knowledge to not put Lego pieces in places they did not belong in, but it additionally provided me insight into the world of construction and architecture, which I would later discover to be a major passion of mine. By learning about the ability to build and design different ideas with these Lego kits, I ultimately developed an interest in the field of architecture. Through my development of this interest, I have been able to take classes at my local career center that provide me with different knowledge and opportunities regarding this field that have given me knowledge about continuing on with this pathway in the future.

My personal experience from making the mistake of misplacing the Lego in my nose, instead of in the kit it belonged with, provided me the knowledge of learning the purpose of Lego sets and their use in the world. This experience ultimately encouraged me to gain more knowledge pertaining to the use of these and allowed me to pursue a hobby that I greatly enjoy, which contributes to my acquisition of knowledge on a daily basis. This thus assists to convey the belief that personal experiences heavily impact one’s knowledge as my experiences encourage me to seek more knowledge on subjects of my interest.

Skittles:

Ever since I was a child, my personal experiences have been heavily influential on the knowledge I have attained. The personal experiences I have faced have provided me with the knowledge to be successful in life and shape me into who I am today. One object that exemplifies this idea is the skittles given to me when I learned how to swim.

When I was first introduced to swim lessons as a little kid, I was fearful of the water and dreaded going to swim class. So much so, that I refused to get into the water, unless my parents and instructor gave me skittles as a sort of bribe. These skittles provided me with the experience of learning how to swim and allowed me to learn more about the sport of swimming. By taking these classes as a child, it ultimately inspired my love for the sport of swimming, and encouraged me to gain more and more knowledge over the sport, and eventually become a swim instructor for younger children to teach my love for the sport to others, and encourage the younger generations to gain similar knowledge about the sport through their own personal experiences.

The skittles used to help me get over my fear connect my memory of first learning to swim, with the knowledge I have gained now all these years later, highlighting the correlation between personal experiences and knowledge. For me specifically, my personal experience of being afraid to swim, but ultimately learning and gaining the knowledge needed to know how to swim and some of the more detailed techniques is representative of the overarching idea that personal experiences have a large impact on knowledge, as the personal experiences we face in our lives, give us the knowledge we need to be successful people, and shape us into who we ultimately become.

NCIS Shirt:

I believe that our knowledge on different topics stems from our desire to learn more based off of our personal experiences we encounter. One object that highlights the idea that knowledge and experiences build off of one another, is my t-shirt from the television show, NCIS: New Orleans. I first began watching this show during the Covid-19 pandemic as an entertainment outlet, however as I continued to watch the show I became fascinated with the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, in which the show is set. Due to my excessive interest in the show, I bought a shirt for the show to remind me of my initial curiosity and love of the city. I wore this shirt frequently and every time I wore it, it was able to remind me of my interest for the city that I developed from this show. This interest ultimately led to me researching the city more and gaining more knowledge on the city’s culture and history. I was able to take my experience from watching this show to research specific locations all across the city and learn about their significance to the city. I was therefore able to become more educated on the city as a whole, and gain more knowledge. Shortly after researching, I was able to take a trip out to New Orleans and learn even more knowledge about the city. This trip and the research I conducted prior to my trip both were able to teach me considerable knowledge about the city. My overall desire to gain knowledge stemmed for my experience of watching NCIS during quarantine, which ties back to the belief that personal experiences lead to the attainment of new knowledge because it sparks the desire to learn more information about topics that our relevant to our lives.