The Art of Life

This past week, I was given the opportunity to interview eighth graders applying to be one of the thirty incoming members of a program in my school district called the Academy of International Studies. Being on the other side of an interview was a unique experience that taught me a lot about how to present myself when I am the one being interviewed. However, what I found to be the most interesting part of the experience was learning about all of the different people I interviewed and seeing how they all answered the same questions in very different ways. As interviewers, we were given a list of questions we were supposed to ask. One of the questions that I most enjoyed asking was, "What is a book you have read that has inspired you to think about yourself, others, or the world in a new way?" Hearing all of the different responses to this question got me thinking about how I would answer it. After much thought, I couldn't narrow down my choices to one book, but rather a number of books, movies, and songs that have inspired me to think about myself, others, and the world in a new way. In my previous blog post, "Through the Looking Glass", I discussed the effect that the way you think about life can have on your identity and how important it is to try to see things in a different way. So, I want to share my list of books, movies, and songs that have inspired me to think differently with you so that you can hopefully have a similar experience.

Books:
In My Hands- Irene Gut Opdyke
Color Me Butterfly- L.Y. Marlow
Blink- Malcolm Gladwell
The Poisonwood Bible- Barbara Kingsolver
The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini

Movies:
World Trade Center
Voces Innocentes
127 Hours
Saving Private Ryan
Tsotsi

Songs:
If I Die Young- The Band Perry
Let It Be- The Beatles
Life Support- Rent
Travelin' Soldier- Dixie Chicks
Perfectly Lonely- John Mayer

I highly recommend all of the above : ]