• Section one, introduction: The first passage that really stood out to me was, “… and ‘liberal arts’ sounds to them like something you pursue if you don’t have a real major” (Bain, 2012). When I read that, it immediately reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend a few years ago. She was graduating and told me she was pursuing a liberal arts education, which basically means she was undecided. This shows how people really do have these misconceptions about the liberal arts education and what it actually entails. 
• Section two, liberal arts and creativity: One thing Bain said in this section of the chapter that really resonated with me was, “They became creative because they became lost in something other than themselves.” It is my goal to find something that makes me feel this creative and passionate. Bain goes on to explain that the subjects were able to understand how their brains worked best and come up with original ideas, and I’m really hoping that once I find an area of study that really interests me, I will also feel this way. So far, I’ve felt like I can’t really picture a career that would be a good fit for me, but I need to move away from that mindset and just focus on subjects that interest me or spark some passion. 
• Section three, engaging with history and justice: When discussing how Dean Baker and his brother had found information about the prime minister of Iran that changed their way of thinking, Bain states, “Every childhood mental model they had constructed about U.S. foreign policy came into question, rocking their most cherished beliefs and raising new curiosities about how the international system really worked.” This really stood out to me because I think it highlights a bigger issue on biases in the U.S. education system when it comes to historical events. Even when you look at how history is taught in the south compared to other areas of the U.S. you can see inconsistencies. I think that this example also really proves why skills learned in a liberal arts education are important because it teaches students to always question/challenge ideas and look at things from different perspectives. Ideas you may assume to be true because they are widely accepted as such could just be a variation of the truth, and you may not know the whole story. Another passage from this section I made a connection to was when Bain stated that, “They engage in discussions in which they challenge one another’s arguments pointing out any problems with evidence or reasoning.” This reminded me a lot of my Sophomore year honors english class where we would always have discussions and debates about morals and ethics and I would always be eager to participate in them. That was one of my favorite classes because I feel like it changed my way of thinking on a lot of things and got me to look at issues from different perspectives. Seeing the connection between my favorite class I’ve had so far and the liberal arts education makes me really consider if I should pursue a liberal education. 
• Section four, the freedom to choose: Hearing Emma Murphy’s story really resonated with me because I feel like we have similar interests in a lot of things like when it comes to the justice system. Bain states that Emma, “… wants primarily to pursue a career that brings her into contact with other people and allows her to be creative.” This is a great explanation of how I feel when it comes to a career for myself too. I want to connect with people, learn about life from other people’s perspectives, and do what I can to help others.
• Section five, selecting a path: The idea that stood out to me the most in this section was when Dudley explained that, “‘…you are only one person in one period of time. Reading allows you to expand, to live other lives in other times’” (Bain, 2012). I think that this is a really interesting perspective on why it’s so important to read and learn about other times and places. This quote also connects to a point made back in section two, that you can’t really say much about yourself or society without having an understanding of the past and history leading up to this point. Things you may accept as “normal” in today’s society likely have historical context and possibly didn’t always exist, so it’s important to understand where they came from and why they came to be.

Text-to-text connections: The first connection I made to the other texts we’ve read was when Bain explained how Dean Baker used what he learned while in a jury pool. This directly connects to Scheure’s point on liberal education and the citizenship aspect of it. He even used jury duty as an example and how a liberal education makes you prepared and well-informed for those kinds of events. Throughout this chapter I also noticed a few connections to the core handbook. For example, Bain talked about in section five how Dudley had to accept that he would not always be the best in every area of study, but that’s okay because it’s still important to get different perspectives and expand on new ideas. With the core curriculum, a goal seems to be to get us to gain knowledge in all different subjects, even if you don’t excel in every one. Finally, Bain stated that in Dudley’s mind, “his intelligence and personality are not frozen in place but constantly evolving, permanently changed by everything he learns.” This idea instantly made me think of Dweck’s concept of the growth mindset and how there’s always room for learning new strategies and perspectives.

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