This is still a rough copy, but I would like to get some feedback on the essay anyway. thanks!

Gender. Place of birth. Financial background, residence, religion, IQ, genes, environment and social input. These are factors that, all together, make us who we are. Bits and pieces of all these influences, sewn together into an intricate fabric, similar to other fabrics, yet different; having its own intricacies and imperfections, both growing and shrinking over time in order to be refined into something better.

Life, and maturation brings different things for different people. Many people weave responsibility seamlessly into their "fabric". Some people, however, have slower, more precise hands, taking time to pinpoint where to place this thread perfectly so that it will define their fabric. Like a key change in the symphony of a person’s life, how one deals with responsibility can grow to define their existence on this planet.

Many of my responsibilities have always come from the church I attend. Leading the worship band, being a “Youth Leader”, and helping with an immeasurable amount of church events, and youth fundraising took up much of my time. I stopped playing Football and Baseball in order to continue helping the youth group, and thus, make that the base of my fabric, the core of my life.

However, as life went on, I realized I needed more balance in my life. Putting all of my time into the youth took its toll on other areas of my life, and I realized I had to broaden the scale of my fabric and make it encompass many areas without being overly focused on any particular area. Anything in excess is bad, whether it be food, work, or even being content; complacency at its core is an excess of being content. Which is why over the last two years I have learned that I must never become complacent. There is always more to be done: playing a simple four-chord song for worship was alright, but I was capable of more, and strove to do so; to weave color into my music, to master the intricacies of each piece. My love for reading has brought an exceptionally unique color into the fabric of my life. Even as a younger child I strove to read books, from reading The Hobbit and the whole Lord Of The Rings trilogy so that my parents would let me watch the movies, to The Fortunate Pilgrim, and A Series Of Unfortunate Events. Literature has added experiences and texture to the fabric of my life that would’ve never occurred if I had been content with reading only books that were assigned.

Even though this fabric has been affected in so many ways, and by so many people, works of both music and literature, and events, it is not complete. It can never be complete, because my nature tells me I will forever strive to do more; I refuse to become complacent. What makes me who I am will forever be changing; colors will continue to be added to the fabric, the masterpiece of my life until the day I die.