Final Draft of a Person

I don't know if there ever really can be a final draft of who we are. I think everyone starts out with a goal in mind as to the person they would like to be when it's all said in done, but I'm not sure we can ever really be what we strive to be. I'm not trying to sound cynical when I say that, because I do believe that we definitely grow into a person that we're more comfortable with as life goes on, but the experiences and lessons we learn throughout life are endless, and I think that has a lot to do with who we are. I think we are constantly being educated during our lives from the things that we see and do, and no matter how long we live we can never understand or do everything that can be done. I'm a very open-minded person, and I feel like I learn new things with each day that I live, and a lot of the things I learn change my opinions that I once believed to be fact. So to give my final answer to the question asked I would say no, there is no final draft of a person. I remember seeing something that said the peak of life is self-realization; the complete understanding of oneself, and being as young as I am now, I'm not sure I believe that can ever really be attained.

final draft of me

The other day I was on the phone speaking to my grandmother. She was asking if my brother (now a senior in high school) had chosen a college yet and what major he was thinking about. I told her I wasn't exactly sure but they he was in the process of deciding. She proceeded to tell me how lucky we are and that going to college was the best decision we could make; "If I had made better decisions maybe I'd be someone else, but no, I just work at Walmart." Those words make me think, if my grandmother could go back and "revise" her life, I am most certain that she would.
So I do not think that there is a "final draft" of who we are. Things change everyday. We meet new people, we experience new things, we go new places, everything around us is changing right before our eyes so how is it possible for us to remain the same? We have to change, we have to adapt, our life is in constant "revision." I hope throughout my life that I have critiqued and made edits to myself and that I have allowed myself to be subject to other's opinions and views so that I can hopefully be the best version of the "me" I want to be by the time I reach my final days.
But who is to say whether or not I will. There is no "final draft." Things can always get better. Just like in class when we turn in a final draft we have the opportunity to revise it once more. And so in life we have the chance, if we seek out opportunities and choose to change, to constantly revise who we are.

"Final Draft?"

Do I think that there is a final draft of who we are? I definitely would have to say no because people are not static, as were are every changing and evolving to shape the person and identity of who we think we are. Truth be told most people in the world will never know who they are, and only some people will think that they have figured out who they are. It is too hard to declare that we have a final draft of who we are as a person because we are always changing. I would have to say the only way a person could have a final draft of themselves is when they are dead. But, is that really your final draft of you as a person? What about after you die, where will you go? Will you start a new life? Or even an afterlife and live forever? This question is hard to answer but I would have to say that as people grow with time, we will always be becoming closer to our final draft, but even when death is upon us, we may not have been able to finalize some things in our life, and some things will be left for others to determine. I would say that life is a book that never ends, and we are writing the pages every day that we are living on this earth, so a person should live each day for the next trying to accomplish as much as they can while they have a chance to change the world. Because when we are gone we will never be able to return to be the same person we once were.

Final Drafts?

Is there a "final draft" to who we are? I can't say there is. As humans, we naturally evolve by who we surround ourselves with. We adapt to a change in environment and pick up habits from new friends. While I feel there is so much changing going on in our lives today as college students, maybe once we are settled down, married with children and start a career we are closer to a final draft. However, life has unexpected changes like the death of someone you are close to or losing your job that may make you change the person you are to adapt to these changes. I don't think there will ever come a day where we can say this is the final me, this is my identity, this is who I will be for the remainder of my time on earth. It is true that we are creatures of habit but there are just some things in life that are beyond our control and it is in our nature to change with them in order to survive.

Our Final Draft

I feel that as humans we continously grow not only physically but mentally, spititually and emotionally. I do not think that there is a point in life that we stop maturing and ecoming a different person. I feel that we constantly change and grow and strive to be something else that we never stop and take time out to appreciate the person that we are. It it impossible to look at yourslef and think that there is nothing that you would change about you. There is no point where we can say I am happy with who I am and I never want to or am going to change. Even if we try not to change, we still do. Change is impossible to avoid. I do not think that there is a final draft to who we are because we are never finished.

Final Draft

When I hear final draft, what comes to my mind is a complete finished piece of work. In my opinion, I don't think there is a final draft to who we are. I know i have changed plenty of times during my life, and I'm sure other people have too. I just don't think that anyone can just be "done" and be the same for his or her entire life. If that was the case, everybody would be so dull and boring and go through the daily routines of their monotonous life.

A "Final Draft" of Who We Are

In high school, our art teacher told us that our work was never really finished, we just stopped at interesting points. I think this echoes to many other fields. Stories ending with some self-realization or happy ending are still cliff hangers, leaving these fictional peoples with lives to live off the page. There is always more to the story in a newspaper or magazine - a back story, plans for the future, the opinions of those not interviewed. We, like the oil paint on our canvas, the characters in our books, or the subjects of our articles, are works in progress, never done, just pausing at interesting times. We are students today, professionals in years to come, later to be parents, grandparents, retirees on cruises or paying with change for our ice cream cones. We are always developing characters, full of depth and life, and there is no "final draft" until death.

Final Draft

A final draft in writing terms would be the revision of a previous draft that was not as well thought out or organized. Is there a final draft on the level of an individual? I think the answer is yes in some cases. In situations like job interviews, first dates, and business meetings I think that most people like to make themselves look good to make a good first impression. People dress nice, and tend to think about what they say before they say it. In contrast to when your around a group of friends you have known your whole life, your girlfriend for the past however many years, or your immediate family when you tend to not think before you speak and the real you comes out. I think in some cases that yes there is a final draft of someone when the situation calls for you to make a good first impression on someone or a group of people.

Am I a final draft?

I think that there is no “real” final draft of who we are, because of the many different stages that we go through our life. I think we have a very sturdy foundation of who we are, but I feel that parts of us are always changes. I think we are different from our teenage years and then we change a little when we are adults. And we change even more when we have a family and kids. So I feel that we continue to change and form ourselves into a little different then we were before. And I feel we continue to change even more when we get old. But I feel we have the same basic foundation of who we are our entire life, but little pieces of us and some of the things we believe in are going to change throughout our life and the stages that we go through.

"Final Draft"

I don't really think we as human beings ever stop evolving when it comes to our identities. I know for example, the more I learn, the more my views change about my surroundings; thus, effecting who I am. We never stop learning, which I feel plays a critical role in defining who we are. It's a fast-paced world, where information and technology is ever-changing, and I feel people nowadays have to keep up with this, causing changes in how we think on a daily basis. I also feel that as we mature, we tend to change our views based on how we percieve the adult world; moving from adolescence to adulthood is the biggest transformation. Again, returning to knowledge as the catalyst for such changes. We may have a generic set of characteristics, but when it comes to certain ideosyncracies and taste, we are constantly shifting our views and opinions. The metaphor "final draft" suits my argument further; you can work on a paper for a so long, and get it to a point of completion, but in reality, there is so much more you could change about it...it's never really finish, and the same holds true for identity. So, when it comes down to it, we never really have a set "final draft" of ourselves.

Final Draft of who we are?

I don't believe that there is a "final draft" of who we are because we are always changing. Whether its a change in opinion,view,or routine it still changes some small part of who we are as an individual. And as we make these small changes we eventually become someone slightly different then who we were before. I also believe that its possible after we die people will look back and see us slightly different than they did before because they are changing and seeing the world differently than they did before.

The Final Draft of Who We Are

I believe that there is a "final draft" of who each person ends up being, but I believe that each person will never know his or her own "final draft". I believe that a person will change many times in his or her lifetime and even if he or she does not change significantly it is still a slight "revision" on which each person actually is. However, when each of us has died there is a "final draft" which we have left on the people we have met, known, loved, or even hated. They end up carrying that version of us with them for the rest of their lives which will inevitably alter their personal "drafts". It's like remembering something profound in an earlier draft and that something sticking with you even if it gets cut or changed for the final draft. We affect and effect everyone and we remember things about them that change who we are and decide what kind of person we will be in the end.

An Absolute Personality

All throughout life we over come obstacles, fall into calamity, witness life-changing experiences... all of which are unexpected and sometimes untimely. When all of this happens, of course I do not believe we are ever at a "final draft" with our personality and with ourselves. To say that would be offensive to me, personally. I would like to think of ourselves as living, growing people that change. Of course there will be constants such as what we like and don't like to eat or (sometimes, depending on the person) what we Believe in. I am ready to accept the fact that later in life I may no longer Love kayaking or Broomball. If I ever pop out kids, I may actually like them as opposed to now where I don't really tolerate them. Unless we count Change as being a part of who we are, I think people will adapt to their surroundings and lifestyle while it changes, thus changing themselves and never really having a "final draft." Maybe you should look at it as more of a chapter rather than a draft. The story continues but you can't revise what has already happened... you can just keep on reading.

Final Draft of Who we are

I don't think that there is a final draft of who we are mainly because most people go through life wasting their days on trying to find out who they are. We discover something about ourselves everyday day. I think that there could be a draft but we would be changing it every hour of the day. Sometimes I wish there was a story written on who I am so I don't have to go through life trying to figure it out. Some people know exactly who they are and some don't, but I definitely think that there is no final draft.

"Final Draft" of Who We Are.

I do not believe there is a "final draft" of who we are until we die. I think a part of why humans are so different from other animals and beings is that we really do not ever stop evolving. I'm not talking about Darwin's theory of evolution... I'm talking about how we continue to make choices each and every day that alter our lives, even if the change is slight. We can't help but grow and learn from the world around us, even if it happens subconsciously.

I don't believe that people can't change - we can, and we do. It is possible for us to change for the better, for the worse, and neither. I do believe that "I am who I am" to a certain extent, but the twelve year old version of me is not the same as the sixteen year old version of me - and that version is not the same person that I am today, either.

Final Draft

First, let me say, what a great philosophical question. I'd assume that this question is directed at the idea that we are ever changing beings. I would have to say that there is certainly no final draft to any person. Some may come close to a fianl draft in their death but most will continue to be thought of even after death. Our personalities are ever changing but they become more solidified over time and less wavering. The final draft of who we are can never be complete in my opinion simply because as we continue on in life our experiences are always shaping us and changing us everyday. And in death we are shaped by what others think of us or who we were.

So, no, there is no final draft of who we are. Just an ever changing template that gets close to that final draft.

Billy Sims

I found this story very interesting. Even though I have never played Sims I have played games that are smiler. Games like Sims can be very addicting you can easily wast hours of your own life while trying to live a pretend life.

The Sims and Materialism.

After reading the first paragraph, I wasn't really sure what I had gotten myself into. After reading the whole chapter, I went back and read the beginning again and laughed. It seemed so depressing and awful... What was this man really doing? He was just playing The Sims. That's all. I thought it was all kind of pathetic.

I've never played Sims, but my best friend plays religiously. He occasionally tells me all about his little Sim family. His Sim is married and has four kids - one of which just started college. Every time he tells me about his simulated video game life, I get so annoyed that he isn't actually living his life instead. I think this game does offer an escape from real life. Maybe if you create a good life for a little avatar on a screen, your life won't suck so much. Or, your life will suck even more because you're not doing anything to fix it and make it better. Instead you're spending your time living a fake life in a false reality.

When Chuck Klosterman mentioned all of the things he bought for SimChuck to make him happy, it really sickened me. I know it's not real money... But I thought it was just ridiculous. If we can be happy without material possessions, which I believe is completely possible, then Sim characters should be able to live just fine without fancy things, too, right?

I know it is just a game and there probably aren't so many controversial issues involved, but I can't help but think that that ideology is false. Overall, I am happy. Today I got pulled over because the red covering for my taillight broke off, so my right break light is a white light. I have to work in order to barely pay my bills and expenses. I don't have fancy clothes or a nice house... But I am happy. I don't need goods and services to make me feel good about my life, and I think it's sad when people think they do.

>>>Also, I loved that Klosterman referenced Fight Club. :D

Sim World vs My World

As an avid Sims video game player, I found this article to be a real eye-opener. I would think, whenever I'd play, about what my characters do in their life in comparison to my own life. The game is so addicting that I would mindlessly control this "person's" life for hours but never really accomplish anything by doing so, save buying pieces of furniture, entertainment, and other expensive, useless things.
Yet, I still would wonder... Why are we, the consumers, so captivated by this game? The game of life. (I think it's kind of humourous that while we are playing someone else's life, we are wasting our own.)

I realized, while playing the game a few months ago, it is so interesting because we can see what this person wants. We can see their mood and their dreams and who they have connections with, etc. In my life, I am constantly bombarded with thoughts that contradict themselves and I am also confused by my needs as apposed to my desires. What mood am I am? What will make me happy? What do I want my career to be? What are my interests? Who do I actually like and who am I just "class partners" with?
While I am struggling with these thoughts that are constantly changing, my Sim is a source of consistency. You can read them and understand them by the charts on the side. There is no guessing as to what they want when their bars clearly state hunger, full bladder, comfort, etc. This is our chance, also, to break away from our lives and create someone either better or worse than ourselves. Feeling bad about yourself? Just make a Sim who burns down the house. He's worse off than you are! Want to imagine being rich and powerful? Just use the cheat codes and watch your Sim float in thousands of Simoleans instantly.

Are we a bad society for playing Life with someone other than ourselves? I don't think so. This is our chance to entertain ourselves in a safe, relatively cheap, and fun (sometimes) way. As much as I would like to think deep into this game about life and how it shows my ethos as a person or the facts of living, etc, I'd just like to think of it, also, as just a game. Just a way of losing our identity and taking in someone else's for a few minutes/hours while we play. Sometimes a game is just a game...

Billy Sim

I thought this week's reading was really interesting and thought provoking. I enjoyed the section when the author talked about the character he built on Sims. He wanted the character and house to look exactly like his. He brought up some really interesting ideas. He said he thought that maybe he did this because he wanted to learn more about himself through his virtual self and/or just wanted to watch himself live.
We often times look forward to something in the future or refer to the time period after we graduate college to be 'starting our lives'. When in fact, our lives have already begun. To think the author may have created a similar character as himself on Sims so he can watch himself live may possibily be linked to a mental illness or carry traits of a socially awkward individual. Although that comment was only a joke, he's not alone.
Whoever thought making a game about living was very clever. As a society, we are always curious about how other people are living. Anytime you check out at the grocery, you can get an inside look into any star's life. We are obsessed with living without actually taking the time to recognize that we are living.

"Billy Sim"

This was a very interesting piece to read as it really made me think about how reliant people are on material things. I realized just from this essay that people buy things in order to make themselves happier. However, does this really make a person happy? I would have to say for personal experience anytime I buy something for myself I really do become more happy. For example, this past weekend I bought a new pair of Asics, which are the elite running shoes for our time. I bought them, for $120, which is the most, I have ever spent for a pair of shoes in my life, but honestly, they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned. When I bought them I was instantly happier with myself, I believe this was because I had finally spent my money on something that I could show off. In addition, I now had no reason to not run every day.
After reading this, it really made me think about my purchase and when I was walking through the mall how so many people were out shopping and all the different stores and products that are offered for people to purchase. I realized that so many people buy things in order to make themselves or other happy. But, I honestly do not have a problem with this because, isn’t that why we work for our money? So that we can buy things (material goods) to make ourselves happier. I also, feel like I do not need a game such as the Sims to make me realize things about my life. I understand what I do on a daily basis and why I do it.

Billy Sim

After reading this article i could not help but to feel so bad for this poor man. It almost seemed as if his life was over until he discovered the video game The Sims. I don't know how anyone could get so depressed that they would have to turn to a video game for some relief. If he felt that he life was that bad then he should have changed it. I absolutely hate games like The Sims because who would want to create their life in a video game especially if your life sucks. I really don't understand the point of it, but millions of people love this game. I think that he discovered a lot about himself by playing a pointless video game and that is sad.

I think that he tried to create another identity for himself, maybe he wanted to see himself have a better life in a video game but it turned out wrong. I guess he found out that his character was just like him in real life, sad and depressed. I couldn't understand how long it took him to figure that out. if we are going to create someone like us in a virtual world then they have to be like us in some way. It did seem to me like he was in a midlife crisis and he was just trying to see if he could get out of it. After all I just felt bad for the poor man, the fact that he was so into this game shocked me. I don't know a lot of people who would play their lives out on a video game so it was a bit funny.

Billy Sim

"Everybody is wrong about everything, just about all the time."

I loved that, in choosing his avatar's personality traits, Klosterman said this, that everyone is wrong about everything. His hypothesis seems pretty accurate, pointing out that many extroverts believe they are introverts, optimists see themselves as cynical, average people call themselves "creative." This relates, I think, to our discussion before about writers. People who are talented writers can feel disappointed by their own work, while others who may not be so talented may see themselves as so; and teenagers with cameras and pictures of trees think they are photographers. Perhaps everybody isn't wrong all the time, but we can certainly have different perceptions and misconceptions about ourselves and others.

"[...] I was doomed to live in my own prison, just like the singer from Creed."

Living in Ohio, where weather destroys the roads each winter, Klosterman's realization that he could never escape road construction is especially relevant. His expression, here, of feeling trapped in a prison reminds me of the Benjamin Franklin quote: Nothing is certain but death and taxes. This is a reality and when it sets in, it is very easy to feel trapped.

Billy Sim

The essay expressed very valid points when it comes to technology and identity. It made clear that this generation is looking more and more into technological entertainment as a means of escapism and ultimately a way to discover themselves. Just the fact the author looked to The Sims as a means of discovering something about himself seems a bit ludicrous, but the logic behind it is perfectly understandable. I mean, who wouldn't want to look at their own daily rituals and actions from a third person perspective? Throughout the rest of the essay, the author is able to distinguish harsh personality differences between his pseudo-character and his real self. It's funny how the author is able to discover so much about himself not through similarities, but differences. However, the most profound realization that is made in the article is the realization that the only thing that made his Sim character 'happy' was being emancipated. The author came to the conclusion that his Sim character was ultimately just as unhappy as he was, and 'deployed actualization'. In comparing the author and his Sim, they were both just as longing for a reason to live. They were just waiting for their own emancipations from the materialism and society as a whole; virtual, or real. Through the rejection of society, comes a free-will to think whatever crosses your mind or do whatever you feel. Without the rules of society, you are able to be what you've always longed for; to be you.

Slumming

This was a very interesting story. The way Palahniuk starts with the end of the story is great. He is so descriptive; it was like I was watching a movie in my head as I read. I had no idea where Palahniuk was taking me with this story. The story itself is just wow. Giving up everything a few nights a week to really live, is crazy. I don’t think I would ever pretend to be homeless. I would feel too guilty. I would feel so bad for those who aren’t pretending. I don’t agree with what they were doing and I think karma gets them in the end, especially for not doing anything for the girl who ended up dead. I think the newspaper and news is filled with tragedy more that triumph, but to detach yourself from reality? That would be tough. Now I think it would be amazing to not have so much technology and to just live in the country with no TV or computer and a cell phone that only calls people but not become oblivious to world events. In this story I understand how the characters could want to live this life. They talk about how in love they are with each other now that they are “slumming”, I think if they just got rid of their luxury items and took a trip in the country they would experience the same thing. I understand their ultimate joy out of this is concealing their identity and creating new ones. Overall this was a fascinating read.