The Carrot, the Egg, and the Coffee Bean

A Reflection Paper

A story of different ways on how we can put our life into perspective. Each item
represents different characteristics similar to us humans. The carrot, egg and coffee bean
have one thing in common, once put in a boiling pot of water they will undergo some
changes. In life, we face a lot of challenges that changes us like this boiling water and
each one of us has our own method of facing these challenges. It can be narrowed down
by these items. A carrot, as tough it can be once boiled it softens, loses its strength and
can be turned into a mush. The egg in its liquid state like a soft and sensitive heart once
boiled it comes out hard and unfeeling inside. The coffee bean once boiled it goes out
fragrant and delectable like our usual sweet cup of coffee in the morning. It is making
something good from the difficulties we face

If we were to choose on who we want to be, most of us will say I’ll be a coffee
bean in this life like how a lot of people love coffee. It is the expected moral lesson of the
story that we must be the coffee bean but if we ask “How about the egg or the carrot?”.
The story told us that we must not be like it but I would like to put a little twist to how
the story goes. Like how this story is about our perspective on how we face difficulties in
life we can also put the items into another perspective. The carrot which can be compared
to a tough personality can emerge in the boiling water with a soft heart and not a weak
soul with a spirit turned into mush. The egg fragile as it can be once boiled will be tougher
in this life but not portrayed as stiff spirited or cold hearted. It is not which item we are
but for me it is rather how we face these challenges even though changing but for the
betterment of our own sake. Yes, we can be a coffee bean by putting ourselves in the
element of boiling water and transforming ourselves to a better outcome but not all of us
want it to be that way. Some of us want to forget, some of us want to pat ourselves dry
of that boiling water. It is really a matter of perspective of how we want to be as long as
we don’t affect the people around us.

Whether we like it or not, the boiling water will exist but what we must think of is
what we can control. The first step to it is to avoid jumping into this boiling water or if not
think of ways of how we can get out of this boiling water as soon as possible. Like the egg
and carrot, the boiling water of life can change us but it must not be in a way that it can
harm us. We may not be like the coffee as we want to get rid of the existence of the
traumas of the boiling water but we learn to move forward.
 Let’s face it, life can be so hard that it can change us. It really depends on the
person on how they react to a certain difficulty. For me, we may come through an adversity
with not just by one item. I admit to myself that I went through being a boiled carrot as I
almost turned my life into mush before learning to go through this life like a coffee bean
or a hardboiled egg. Change is the only constant thing in life and through it we learn to
grow. We can choose who we want to be but we also hope that who we want to be will
be the best for us. It takes time to conquer a challenge or the boiling water of our lives.
Let our challenges be a lesson on how to move forward and live this life. What are we like
when things do not go well? A carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? It doesn’t matter. Live a
fulfilling life and hope for days with less boiling water.
 The Turtle and The Hare

A Reflection Paper

Who was faster? The turtle or the hare? If I were to ask a child who won, one
would say the turtle. It was expected for the hare to have a fast start but underestimating
the turtle he slept under a tree. The moral lesson we all come to in our mind as a child is
that the slow and steady wins the race. It was the story we all know of. But, there is a
story I’ve never heard of after that race. It is that the turtle race came into an agreement
of a rematch. Learning his lesson, the hare promises to himself that he will give all his
might and not slack off in this race. As expected of his speed, the hare won the race. The
lesson? The fast and consistent will beat someone who is slow and steady. It never ended
there but the turtle challenges the hare to a different route which was the comfort zone
of the turtle in which he took his advantage. The turtle won the race by changing the
playing field. They competed again but now as a team and from that race they won as
they used each other’s strengths.

From this story, the extended version of the childhood story of the turtle and the
hare, you’ll learn that two heads are better than one. A usual line in teamwork but as we
know it is good to be individualistic at times but there will be times in which we will need
each other’s hands. There are a lot of lessons to take from this story. The writer’s creative
mind made this story a lot interesting by putting in more situations in which a lot can
relate of.

A story of who was faster and concerning about speed. What I took out of this
story is that no matter how fast or slow you are. You got to work at your own pace. My
take on this is don’t make life a competition of who is faster. We all aim for success and
might wonder what I am I doing wrong in this age. Some might succeed in a young age
but we all have our own time to reach that destination. In our playing field of life, you are
free to run, jog and walk as long as your body can handle. We must not push ourselves
and learn to rest so we can come back to the track again. Some people may be slow but
at some time they will reach the line. Some may be fast but might lose focus of the goal.
Like in our modern story, other people can be of advantage. We may struggle at a certain
area that might hinder our path but we can go through it if we ask help or maybe if we
are alone we can work our way around it. It might take longer but we can always go
conquer it no matter how hard this obstacle. In a running match, there are people beside
us but in our life we don’t treat these people as competitors. At some time, we will run
alongside them and help each other but at some point there will be a time they will be a
lot faster. We can still support them and we’ll meet new people along the way but
remember that you’ll still see each other in the end of the finish line.

Hearing this story, it reminded me of a song I once loved. A song called “My Pace”
by Stray Kids highlighted that there's no need to rush and don't compare yourself with
others. The message it conveys is that we can take it easy and it is okay to run slower.
Just like what the story wants to tell us. Perhaps we can also take it slow and reflect in
this life. As humans, we also try so hard to be fast but unknowingly we are going beyond
our limits. It takes courage to slow down in this fast paced life but it can also be good for
our sake. We must take this life with our capabilities and at the same time work with our
endurance. You can walk, jog or run as long you are happy and don’t let others bring you
down or ruin your pace.
 Finding Meaning to your life

It is innate in humans to wonder what’s the meaning of their life. Why they were
born? What is my purpose in this world?. These are just some of the questions one would
ask to themselves but what is really the meaning of life. At what age would we really find
this meaning we are looking for?

My 18 years of life has been a long journey. It was full of ups and downs but a lot
of moments were quite fulfilling. Was I created to create this moments? We might wonder
if all the things we have done are either destined or created by us. In just a few words we
already ask quite a lot of questions. Finding our purpose is possible for any critically
thinking age but to think of it can be a nerve wracking. I can’t really say the formula to
finding the self. If you look it up in the internet you’ll find a lot of ways but we can’t assure
if it is really the perfect way to do it.

I actually don’t know if I truly say that I found my purpose but it really
unexplainable. Like it is in the tip of tongue. One may find their meaning after a life
changing moment or rather just by self reflection. It is a matter of how you do it. At some
point in my life, I felt something missing. It feels I am just living this life not the way I
want it to be. For me, finding meaning to your life is a motivation to go through this life.