One memorable line from the Forrest Gump movie is that “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

Respond

Our textbook discusses sixteen different “Life is” interpretations for the meaning of life. It would be useful to review these before starting the assignment.

In no more than 750 words, you will be constructing your own Meaning of Life.

1. For this assignment, first fill in the blank with your own answer for “Life is ________________,” and briefly explain what you mean by your answer.

Then, answer the following questions:

2. What does your answer about what life is say about you and how you see yourself? (For example, if your answer is happy and light-hearted, then you probably see yourself that way as well. Or, it could be that your answer reflects how you wish life was and that it was different from your real life.)

3. How does your answer explain your ultimate life goals? Expectations? Hopes? Fears? Purpose? If it does not explain any of these things, why not?

4. Would your close friends and family members agree that answer truly describes your outlook on life? Why or why not?

5. Now that you have had some chance to really think about it, would you like to start this assignment all over again with a different answer for the “Life is” statement? If “yes,” what would the new answer be and why would you prefer it to your original answer? If “no,” explain why not? (Possible answers might include that you are too lazy to keep working on the assignment, that you are too arrogant to admit that you have changed your mind, that you are too dogmatic and rigid to even considering that your first answer was not the best answer, and so forth).

It is preferable to come up with your own answer about what “Life is” for you. However, if you are having a hard time coming up with an original answer, besides those mentioned in the book, some answers given by other students are listed below.

Life is a puzzle, except that you don’t know what the picture is supposed to look like, and you don’t even know if you’ve got all the pieces.

• Life is a maze, except that you try to avoid the exit.
• Life is a poker game. (It requires luck, but you can win with a high pair and you can lose with a flush.)
• Life is win or lose. A few people win. Most are losers.
• Life is an adventure.
• Life is a b**tch, and then you die.
• Life is a learning experience.
• Life is a blessing.
• Life is suffering.

Please ensure that your essay addresses each component of the assigned questions and that your answer is well-organized, uses excellent, college-level prose, and makes judicious use of textual evidence. Your essay must follow APA formatting and should be 500-750 words long.

If you quote, paraphrase, or summarize from the textbook or any other source, you must include in-text citations and a References page.