Essay question #2-What significant intellectual event(s) would you say is (are) responsible for your current thinking? It is difficult to pinpoint intellectual development on specific events. My current thinking has evolved from every experience in my life, culminating into my current, ever-changing self. If one does not continue learning and being effected by new experiences then one is closed minded and not progressing. In the fourth grade I read a biography of Benjamin Franklin. This literary work greatly inspired me. Benjamin Franklin was a hero of the intellect, fully utilizing his mental abilities, improving the daily life of every American. Franklin reminded me of myself. He had a great many interests, and instead of choosing one, he excelled at everything. An inventor, scientist, politician, author, and negotiator, Benjamin Franklin taught me that it is possible to extend your reach and succeed. Reading this biography inspired me to work very hard at school and to gain all the knowledge I could in a wide variety of areas. Only one other event stands out in a similar manner to that of the biography. During the summer after my Sophomore year I worked for F/V Argos Inc. rebuilding a 65 foot fishing vessel. I moved down to Coos Bay, 120 miles south of my home of Newport. I lived with several other men in a apartment near the job site. I completely forgot about all of my intellectual, and social pursuits and turned into a blue collar worker. I worked 80 to 90 hour weeks 6 to 7 days a week. I began to feel less sympathy toward those people in our society who do not work hard and who live off the system. While I enjoyed a hard day’s work, I realized that this was not a lifestyle which I desired to live. After that summer, there was no doubt in my mind that I needed to go to college and pursue a career which involved the mind more than the body. This work experience gave me a better perspective of our society. Having fought in the trenches, I now wanted to command the forces, so I set about making myself a good candidate for the Universities of America. These two experiences were major motivating factors in my life. Each changed my thinking in a unique way which has helped to shape who I am now, a fully extended high school student attempting to gain admission into the Oregon State University Honors College.