<p>yea, I typed this for the CB Online Course. I did it in the 25 min. Let me know what to improve upon, etc...I don't know much about the topics I used and made up the name of the Brooklyn Dodger's owner, etc. LOL.</p>
<p>Prompt: A person does not simply "receive" his or her identity. Identity is much more than the name or features one is born with. True identity is something people must create for themselves by making choices that are significant and that require a courageous commitment in the face of challenges. Identity means having ideas and values that one lives by.</p>
<p>Adapted from Thomas Merton, Contemplation in a World of Action </p>
<p>Assignment:
Is identity something people are born with or given, or is it something people create for themselves?</p>
<p>Contrary to popular belief, an identity is not innate: It is not something one is born with but something that one gains through life experiences, decisions, and values that mold a person and surround him or her with their true identity. Mahatma Gandhi, Eddie Jones, and Rosa Parks all discovered their true identities through revolutionary decisions that embodied their values and cloaked themselves in the identity that resulted from such fortitude.</p>
<p>Mahatma Gandhi was not the spiritual, pacifist that we know him to be since birth but only developed such ways after cementing values that he chose to live and lead his country by. Gandi came to India as a bright scholar from England in search of discovering his true homeland that he had not seen much of as a child. In part, his journey was a way to discover his roots and, in turn, his identity formed. Gandhi saw that a storm was brewing in India and the violence with which the British were ruling India with. Such experiences caused Gandhi to form antipodal values and resulted in him leading a non-violent revolt after he climbed up the leadership ladder in India. The gruesome torture and violence exhibited by the British caused Gandhi to abide by his values and 'ahimsa', fasting to draw attention to his cause of non-violence. Thus, Gandhi developed his identity due to experiences, values, and experience and not through innate means as he led India to independence, cementing his identity forever as the Father of Independence and as the ultimate pacifist.</p>
<p>Rosa Parks, similarly, created an identity for herself when she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. Parks, who was an egalitarian, developed the mindset that is was unjust that she had to give up her seat time and again. This basic, yet audacious, action of refusing to give up her seat signified a metamorphosis of Parks' identity from a reticent individual to a leader in the fight for racial equality. Parks is defined by such an action and her basic values of wanting equality eventually took over and shaped her identity.</p>
<p>Eddie Jones, during a similar time of racial unrest, broke the racial barrier and formed his identity when he signed Jacki Robinson. Jones signed the black Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in a move that changed baseball forever, breaking the color barrier. Jones' fundamentally different mindset, one that had been acquired from years of coaching and mentoring young Negro baseball players, led to his heresy identity. In a time where it was considered treason to allow black Americans into baseball stadiums, Jones rewrote the rules and created a precedent that has never been met. The valor shown by Jones signifies the strong values that his identity bore.</p>
<p>Thus, Gandhi, Jones, and Parks made courageous decisions and actions based on identities that they developed over their lives. Such passionate and brave decisions can only be made when there is a foundation that is indestructible. This foundation is one's identity. And identity shapes our decisions and is built upon values and values can only be gained through life experiences. An identity is not innate. It is one's life story.</p>
<p>END OF ESSAY</p>
<p>give me all the advice and constructive criticism that you have. I am getting 1-3 wrong on the W MC usually so I really need to nail that 12 essay.</p>
Seriously, you can get away with a few grammatical errors, but when they start to add up, you are likely to lose a point or two on the essay. Particularly, you want to watch out for double use of prepositions as in the phrase “with which the British were ruling India with.” In terms of punctuation, the word “spiritual” is an adjective, so there should be no comma between it and “pacifist.” The phrase “him leading” should be “his leading.” The “leading” is an attribute of Ghandi. The SAT W section really likes to test for the use of the possessive form, rather than the accusative (objective), ahead of a gerund (ing-verb used as a noun).
I am honoured to have you imitate my style that I didn’t know I had. lol</p>