Rachel Hrovat- Class Reflection 9/23/2010

Today in class we discussed José Ortega y Gassett's quote, "Tell me the landscape in which you live and I will tell you who you are", and the profoundness of this statement. The more I thought and pondered about the quote, the more I came to agree with what he was saying. My thoughts then turned to people I know very well and when thinking about the areas they grew up in, I realized that those who grew up in similar landscapes have similar personalities, senses of humor, behaviors and mannerisms. My friends from the mountains versus the friends I have from a more urban community. Those from the mountians in West Virginia do not need much to be entertained. At a gathering, we might just sit and talk on the front porch for several hours. My friends from a more developed area, however, like to go out to dinner, or see a movie when a get-together is planned. I am still wondering what is is exactly, about the environment we live in, that causes and shapes us into the people we are. And how, some, like Ortega y Gassett are able to determine what someone is like just by knowing that individual's surroundings. It really is interesting to see the substantial role that wilderness and environment play in people's lives.