Call me Samuel

Disclaimer: This is my autobiographical piece, because I just realized we did one of these....

Two experiences:

When I was little my grandpa pulled out one of my (not loose) baby teeth with a pair of rusty pliers. I'm not sure how I ever agreed to that, or if I agreed. I was probably tricked. The tooth snapped in half--so one half came out, then he had to get the other half out.

When I was a little bit older I decided to do the 5k ("Funrun" they called it) at my elementary school. This experience was much more painful. It was also much more my decision. I wanted to win. I was in complete control of wether I stopped or kept running hard. It was sheer willpower that drove me forward, through the pain and towards my own white whale--victory.

Both experiences involved intense pain, though that pain differed. I had no control over one, the other I had all of the control. In that sense I have been at various times in my life both an Ishmael and an Ahab. Ishmael is at the mercy of an old madman (my grandpa? but it could also be the attitude "victim of fate"), cajoled onto his ship unaware of all that was to come--tricked by fate you might say. Ahab is in control, he knows what he wants--Moby Dick (my desire for victory? but it could also be pretty much anything that is craved). He pursues it at all costs, through all pain.

So that is a little of who I am. This class has been very interesting thus far and I am excited to see where it leads in terms of both Moby Dick and Digital Culture.

(I am in the middle...I won)