My Life Events That Made Me Into The Person I Am Today

“Directions to Rogers State University,” I yell countless times to Siri. Each time, she responses with “I didn’t quite catch that” or that she is searching for the definitions of “reverse aging Berkeley” or “Regis Vamos publicity.” Eventually, the mischievous ghost of Steve Jobs decides he has had fun with me, and allows Siri to give me directions. Siri, now setting up shop in my Maps app, gives me three routes to choose from. The three options consist of one that get you there quickest, one that doesn’t have tolls, and one that was tailored for sightseeing tortoises. All eventually leading to Rogers State University. Coincidentally, RSU is where I am right now writing this essay. In a somewhat sloppy transition, there are many things that have led me to this point in life and there were three specific life events that made me into the person I am today. In an effort to drive this metaphor home, there are specifically three routes you could take to understand who I am. Whether it be when I first watched a movie in theaters, when my family’s house burned down, or when my grandfather was in the hospital, there are many routes you can take to understand me.
The first film I truly remember seeing in theaters was with my grandma. The year was 2002. I was five years old. And the movie was Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. Later, I came to the realization that the film was garbage and that modern-day George Lucas has a very loose definition of “film.” However, as a kid, it was beyond words. To sit in a theater and see the glow of a beaming world – complete with lightsabers – dumbfounded me. My grandmother would always show me movies at home on the television, in days long before high-definition. She showed me the movies th...

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...e from where I was. After a bit of a struggle, she gave me three options. I chose one of them and drove. It was raining hard that day. As I drove, the rain kept getting harder. Eventually, Siri said to make a “slight right.” I saw the next exit. It was not a slight right, it was indeed a very sharp right. The actual turn had to be after that turn. It was not, I realized after looking at the phone. And, in an act of stupidity, I turned sharply to make the exit. I could have made it too, if it had not have been for the rain and the “slick conditions.” I skidded back and forth before barreling down a hill. I got out of the car a little dazed. There did not seem to be any major damage to myself, or the car. I got back into the car and drove to RSU. I grabbed my suitcase and went to my dorm room. I dropped my things and looked around. I wondered “Now, how did I get here?”