TASK 3
CONTEXT

“conflict causes harm to both the powerful and the powerless”

Throughout our life journey we are faced with situations that force us to make choices that could either benefit us or lead us to a place we never expected. Our journey is full of different paths and choosing which one does not ultimately shape who we become. Our decision making provides us lessons we can learn from whether it being positive or negative choices, but it is not the choices that shape us. Elements such as our environment we surround ourselves in has more of an impact. People we surround ourselves with is also another factor. Positive or negative choices we make along our journey can provide us important life lessons.

When put in difficult situations, the line between good and bad choices can become blurry. It is not the actual decision being made but the result of our choices that we can most benefit from, life lessons which can effect the person we become. When making the choice, we are thinking of the consequences making us fully aware of what we are doing. To assist us, past personal experience can effect our choice and even the current mood while making the decision. In the film Shawshank Redemption, the character Bryon Hadley who was chief guard of the prison made the choice of brutally beating the new and obviously weak inmate which ended with the inmate’s death. Bryon’s choice of brutally beating the inmate made him feel powerful and possession of high authority which shaped him into an even more bitter and self-obsessed man who did not care for the wellbeing of others or how his actions effected those around him. Positive choices are usually the hardest ones to achieve but in the end shape us to become a better and more mature person. The song ‘Juicy’ by The Notorious B.I.G (Christopher Wallace) tells a story of how he chose to leave the drug business that was extremely common in his hometown and pursue his dream of being a successful rap artist. “I made the change from a common thief, to up close and personal with Robin Leach.” Christopher’s choice shaped him to become a determined and fearless person and giving himself the name of one of the most successful and influential rap artist of all time. Although choices can shape who we become, the environment we surround ourselves in has more of an impact.

When we immerse ourselves in a particular environment, this ultimately shapes the person we become. What we are exposed to most effects us as we continue on our journey. Being surrounded by a particular atmosphere can cause us to adapt to the certain environment in order to make ourselves feel more comfortable, which can result in changing the person we are. In the film Shawshank Redemption, main character Andy Dufrense was an innocent man sent to prison. The world he came from and the world inside a prison was completely different. “You know the funny thing is, on the outside I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.” - Andy. Andy’s experience in a prison shaped him into the man he became, scheming and a set or survival skills. Environments such as a place we grew up in, can have a major effect on how we are shaped. The song ‘A Dream’ by Common (Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr.) ft. Will.I.Am tells the story of how Lonnie grew up in a rough neighbourhood with parents with a messy marriage and his father being an alcoholic. “It's a cold war, I'm a colder soldier, hold the same fight that made Martin Luther the King.” Due to the environment Lonnie was exposed to, it shaped him to be resilient and strong minded man, which helped