Belonging To A Tree Meaning

Abraham Lincoln’s wise words reverberate in my mind as a constant reminder to stay true to the tree rather than the shadow. The belief statement of a tree being the real thing teaches the importance of constantly making an effort to live an authentic life while externalizing our internal qualities in order to contribute to the general opinion that others build. Defining someone’s character is undeniably a difficult feat because it is often impossible to define for ourselves and essentially inaccurate when defined for others. What must always be remembered is that one’s character is much better judge of who a person is and what a person believes, feels, perceives, and judges than one’s reputation. Character is more permanent and reflective of ourselves and our nature while a reputation …show more content…
We must continually try to align the two so that those around us can easily see who we are. The juxtaposition in my life can be seen through the definitiveness of a tree and the malleability of a shadow, but the significance is the consistency I attempt to show between the two. Similar to a tree, character is rooted into the ground and grows naturally in the process of life. High school tends to be an integral part of this process of discovering who we are and who we want to be. This journey comes with countless obstacles but eventually help us foster our own individual personalities. However, it is easy to pretend to be something you are not, which makes it hard to ever understand who someone is. Having a good character entails much more than feigning kind acts, but means doing what is right for the sake of doing something right. Discovering someone’s true character requires examining their actions for it speaks volumes to the character they will show in everyday situations and when faced with adversity. A person’s reputation still remains important because it is often the only side most people come to view. This shadow of who we are