Name: Rachel Hibbard PREWRITING PROMPTS Position-Shift Essay

1. Who is your current hero? Why? Who was your hero when you were ten? Why? Has there been a change? Explain. *tip: focus on the value behind why you picked that particular hero does he or she represent certain values or personality traits that you think are i!portant? "y biggest hero now is not #ust one person$ really. % think !y heroes are the people who don&t get recogni'ed. (ike people who are helping others$ putting their own welfare last$ and)or those who are bravely !aking a difference. %f % had to choose one person as a personal hero$ however$ it would be "alala *ousaf'ai. +he&s a ,akistani teenager who is an activist for wo!en&s rights. +he&s already been shot by the -aliban for attending school$ but she still strongly carries on and speaks against radical %sla!. +he has so !uch courage and a peaceful disposition even after attacked. When % was ten$ % probably would have considered a video ga!e character fro! !y favorite ga!e$ #ust because % thought they were cool. .. What was your biggest fear as a child? Why? What is your biggest fear now? Why? Has there been a change? Explain. *tip: focus on the value behind the concern does it represent things that are i!portant to you that you don&t want to lose? "y biggest fear as a child was probably the thought that nothing was real. % saw a show dealing with that sort of concept$ and it scared !e pretty bad. /eality being !essed up in any way freaks !e out. 0ow % think % fear losing people #ust because !oving onto college$ and being !ore into growing up and growing older$ thinking of future goals$ % reali'e that is i!peding eventually$ at least. -hose % choose close to !e$ % invest in deeply and care for deeply. -o not have the! any!ore is hard to think of. 1. Have you experienced a !o!ent of epiphany$ as if your eyes were opened to so!ething you were previously blind to? 2bout what? When? % have experienced !any of the sorts. %t could be the little things to bigger things. % can&t see! to re!e!ber !any well. % think one of the bigger ones was when % reali'ed that people cannot be perfect. %t sounds i!!ature$ probably because % was a preteen$ but % thought people could be close to it. %f people had !a#or flaws$ 3including !yself4 % thought that they #ust weren&t trying hard enough and that there was a way. +elf5 i!prove!ent is definitely so!ething to ai! for$ yes$ but not infallibility$ younger /achel. 6. How have you grown as an individual in the last ten years? -hink of the ways and the reasons why. -en years ago$ % was 7 years old. -o not have changed would be 8uite unlikely$ and 8uite a travesty. While %&ve not attained perfection$ % think % have i!proved overall as a person.

% know a lot !ore about life$ about people$ about !yself. %&ve learned and accepted who % a!. % don&t have the te!per % used to. %&ve been through a lot$ and % didn&t succu!b. % have !ore confidence$ !ore strength$ and !ore assurance in all aspects. % feel stable and like a young adult that can do anything. 9. What is your strongest$ personality trait? :o you !aintain strong beliefs or adhere to a philosophy? Have you always had this trait? %f not$ how has it changed)i!proved? % think !y strongest personality trait is !y concern for others. % have always had this trait$ and it !akes !e feel good in what % do. % a! also a ;hristian and % hold !y beliefs in that. % think that !ost philosophies % have are those that have been thought of deeply and considered fro! !ost angles$ so % a! fir! in those. <. What are your !ost i!portant extracurricular or co!!unity activities? What !ade you #oin these activities the first ti!e? Had so!e kind of event encouraged your interest or encouraged a change of heart? % was in ballroo! dance because % absolutely love dance$ but particularly that for!. % teach !yself choreography$ dance on !y own$ and like =pop$ which is essentially a genre of !usic that consists of dance tea!s that doubles as a !usical group. % got out of ballroo! dance because % was so anxious and #ittery that % broke out in hives. %&ve always been shy$ and the pressure and close contact set it off. >. Write down your experiences$ changes$ thoughts$ and)or feelings in relation to: o +elf5estee! 3approval and validation of self$ ideas$ and values4 % used to be picked on all through !iddle school$ so badly that % had to switch schools because they couldn&t insure !y safety. -hat leaves so!eone with a broken self5estee!. "y fa!ily would build !e up$ but peers& opinions and !y school experience were very o!nipresent. %t took a while for !e to look people in the eyes$ but % did$ and here % a!. o %dentity ?or a long ti!e$ % was changing and learning$ having the low self5estee! that % did. % had to learn who % was$ and how % thought about things. % was easily influenced by people$ and % had to learn not to be. o 2cade!ic and extracurricular success % have health proble!s so %&d always not be the best % could be. %t was a !atter of !issing work$ not a !atter of understanding and learning. o ,opularity and acceptance by a peer group

% kind of already touched on this one$ but now % a! not so ti!id or receptive to negative peer views or co!!ents. % a! a bit sensitive to the! still$ however. ,opularity doesn&t nor has ever affected !e. o (oyalty$ trust$ and honesty Without these$ what do we have?