The Journey

Dana Kuehl

English 314

Section 14

At first, this video game, designed to reveal psychological characteristics about the person who played it, seemed nothing more than just a game. I wrote my story as if it were a video game, but also created realistic objects and imagery. After picturing the terrain as a dense forest, all of the objects within the game became things that could realistically be found in a forest. I created a story around the prompts that were given to me and felt that none of my descriptions of the eleven aspects had any significant meaning about me. However, after analyzing the aspects one by one, I discovered that most of them did portray parts of who I am. One central theme that I found in my story tied together the equipment, terrain, rocks, and garden. This theme is about my problem-solving skills and how I am always prepared for anything. The garden, which represents childhood, is the foundation for who I am and why I became who I am today. My parents raised me well, but were not standing over me all of the time. They gave me the tools that I needed to grow and develop, but also allowed me to make my own mistakes and solve my own problems. The terrain, which represents how I see my life in the present, shows that I do not know what my future holds or where I may be going. However, because of the skills that I learned in childhood, I will be able to succeed and overcome anything in the future. The equipment, which represents how I prepare, directly enforces how well prepared I am for any sort of challenges or opportunities that may cross my path. The rocks, which represent problems or obstacles, are the nemeses that I must fight with my weapons of problem-solving and being well prepared. Luckily, I have these skills and have been mastering them since my childhood.

The characters within my story stumble upon a garden that is small and looks somewhat well kept. There are some weeds growing in the garden, but the soil looks as if it had been watered just the other day. Only a few plants grow within the garden, strawberries, raspberries, onions, and one stalk of corn. The fact that the garden is small represents that I come from a small family. My description only mentions four different kinds of plants in the garden which could symbolize the members of my family. The strawberries and raspberries stand for my parents, the onions stand for my grandmother, and the one stalk of corn stands for my one older sister. The garden is well taken care of just like I was in my childhood. Also, the garden was watered recently which represents that my family has given me the things that I need to grow and develop. They provided basic necessities and a foundation for developing and strengthening skill sets. Throughout my childhood, my family instilled values, beliefs, and knowledge in me. My family and experiences in childhood taught me to be well prepared for anything and allowed me to develop strong problem-solving skills. The weeds in the garden are problems that I had to solve on my own. My parents never tried to solve all of my problems for me. By letting me figure out how to solve some of my own problems and by letting me make mistakes, my parents gave me an important skill set. My childhood prepared me for almost everything I will encounter in the future and developed my problem-solving skills to overcome or succeed at the things that I will not be prepared for.

The terrain that my characters are dropped off in is a small prairie filled with wild flowers and plants that is surrounded by dense forests. The prairie is not hard to walk through. The temperature is in the 60’s and it is slightly chilly. Since the prairie is not hard to walk through, the present is not very challenging for me. In the prairie, one can see as far as the prairie stretches. This symbolizes that for a short period of time in the present and near future I can see what is going to happen or where I may be heading. For now, I have an idea of where my life is going and what lies ahead for me. However, it is difficult to see past the wall of dense forest. The dense forest symbolizes the future and the fact that I can not see what my future holds. This may also mean that I am indecisive and have not figured out the path that I am going to take in the future. There are no clear paths to take within the dense forest so I must forge ahead and create my own path even though I do not know which way to go yet. A dense forest can also hide things and often contains obstacles. I am prepared for what lies ahead of me in the present, but I am not as prepared for the future. I do not know exactly what will happen in the future but I am well prepared for anything because of the tools and knowledge I gained from childhood. The future will also hold many obstacles that I will need to overcome. The problem-solving skills that I developed and strengthened during childhood will help me to defeat those obstacles.

The equipment that my characters carried in the game were an automatic gun, a pistol, some shells for each gun, some bottles of water, a little bit of food, a flashlight, and a first aid kit. Some of the equipment included items needed for survival, such as the water and food. By including survival items, I reveal that I am very realistic and practical. The variety of different equipment portrays that I like to be prepared for anything. I am well prepared for any challenges or obstacles that might be in my path now or in the future. The guns and shells represent being prepared for dangerous situations. While I hope that I am never in such a position, it does not hurt to be careful and knowledgeable about ways to defend yourself. I do not own a gun, but I have taken martial arts classes and seen television shows about what to do in those kinds of situations. The water, food, and flashlight represent being prepared for basic necessities or anything in general. Flashlights are used to see or find things in the dark. I also must be ready for events that may be unforeseen and situations that are surprising. The first aid kit represents being prepared for emergencies. These emergencies do not always have to be medical emergencies. Some of them could be situations in which the problem needs to be solved quickly. In these types of situations, I am well prepared because of my problem-solving skills and analytical thinking.

Within the forest, my characters notice five rocks. One of these rocks is about ten feet tall. All of the other rocks are placed within a few feet of this large rock, but in no particular pattern. The rocks are all fairly clean with little moss or dirt on them. The five rocks symbolize a couple of obstacles that I have in my current path. The large rock is the most challenging problem and it overshadows the other problems. I am not quite sure if these rocks represent specific or general obstacles in my life right now. If I had to guess at what these five obstacles are, I would say that the large rock represents academic challenges and the other four rocks represent family, relationship, career, and apartment challenges. Because the rocks are in no particular pattern, it means that my obstacles are sporadic and may not have anything to do with any other obstacle. Also, the rocks are all fairly close to one another which shows that I am dealing with all of these obstacles at almost the same time. The cleanliness of the rocks symbolizes that these obstacles are fairly new. In the story, the rocks are not hard to get around. This signifies that I can overcome all of these challenges. The large rock may be daunting, but I am equipped with good problem-solving skills and am ready to tackle even the biggest obstacle.

From the analysis of the garden, terrain, equipment, and rocks, I concluded that the theme of being well prepared and equipped with problem-solving skills is an important part of who I am. This theme is carried out from childhood to future endeavors. The garden portrayed the foundation that my family provided for me. They not only gave me the things I needed to grow, but also gave me valuable tools that I would need for the rest of my life. The terrain includes both the present and the future. For both, I will utilize my problem-solving skills and be well prepared for anything that crosses my path. I may not know what the future holds, but I can use my tools to steer it in the right direction. The equipment that is included in the game shows how well prepared I like to be for any situation. Last but not least, the rocks symbolize obstacles that I am facing now. By being prepared and having good problem-solving skills, I can overcome all of these obstacles.