The exercise in class today, I think was meant to start getting me to think about what ordinary little things in the world, whether it be coins, books, shoes, food, may represent to people, and I believe it was meant to help me find a deeper meaning of the ideas it may stand for. I mean, the obvious was pointed out, yes, X is a quarter, and it's represents American currency, but what does money mean to the average person, food, transport, wealth or poverty? What does liberty mean and ultimately, how does that make one feel. I found that a year ago my attitude and personal perspective on life would have given me a completely different interpretation of the assignment, but through this I've noticed that people's lives and beliefs lead them to many different conclusions regarding X, whether or not it's a quarter. No matter what we are examining it will always have some deeper meaning, than what we may find on the surface. We find that something as simple as a quarter can lead to epic thoughts about life, love, government, wealth, status and that's all based on our own perceptions and experiences in life, thus far. The beauty of this situation is that our perception and thoughts change drastically and constantly day by day, so these X's in life take on new meanings. These things never stay the same, and everything is contributing to this; literature has an effect, film, history, science, politics, religion, and basic pop culture all have a tremendous effect on our lives regardless if we are aware of it or not. My personal responses to the questions today struck me as odd because of my negative perception of money and government, which I stated earlier, that a year ago I would have never drawn those same conclusions. It's best to remember that everything is in a constant state of change, even our own solid, unchangeable opinions. Even just listening to someone else talk about their impression or perception of X can completely alter my point of view and open up a new realm of possibilities for intelligent thought and when discussing anything in life, it's important to keep that in mind and stay open for anything.