Academic book that has inspired you

What is an academic experience, project, class, or book that has influenced or inspired you? (500 words)
I'm not sure if this essay is hard to follow or if I didn't give enough backround of the book. I'm also worried that I did not explain clearly enough how it inspired me. Thanks for your suggestions :)



The cover of the book does not spark nearly as much interest as the words inside. It is a bland shade of beige with a black and white photo of an old-fashioned man. The title, A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, screams boring. As far as I can tell, this is the last book I want to be reading on this warm summer night. I realize it is required though, so I situate myself on my back porch where I can feel a mild breeze and where the lighting is bright enough to keep me awake.
I struggle through the first chapters, desperate to make some sense of the strange story James Joyce is trying to get across. "Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road..." The opening line is absurd, and as the story of an Irish boy named Stephen Dedalus continues I am even more lost. After a few chapters of confusion I begin to realize that the book has put me in the mind of Stephen Dedalus, and the narrative becomes more complex as Stephen's thoughts develop. The more I became part of Stephen's mind, the more I enjoy the novel.
A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man explains Stephen's life journey until he casts off from society to become an artist. James Joyce uses Stephen to represent himself and his own life leading up to becoming an artist. I greatly enjoyed the thought of being inside a literary genius' mind; that I knew what he went through and what he thought. What I found even more inspiring was the decision Stephen made at the end of the novel; that to become an artist he would have to leave society, his family, and his religion and let no outside forces influence his work.
When I say I found this inspiring, by no means do I imply that I want imitate Stephen and leave my life behind to become an artist. Instead, the book made me question how much I was influenced by outside forces. I realized that all of my thoughts are affected by my surroundings. My classmates, teachers, coaches, religion, and books I have read all influence the way I think. It made me grateful for the many positive influences I have in my life. I agreed with Joyce's main idea, that people are effect greatly by their surroundings, but I disagreed with the idea that you must leave them to become yourself. The influences in your life are a major part of who you are.
Although wary at first, I was inspired by the few precious summer hours I spent reading about Stephen's theory. It made me think about how I am a product of my environment. When thinking about this it was suddenly apparent that my environment would soon change, and consequently my thoughts and ideas. Because of A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, I keep in mind how the environment of the college will influence me. By choosing Brown, I am choosing to let Brown influence me and shape me into the person I hope to be.

Oh, well the first thing I noticed is that you started out y writing about boringness. That is not an effective way to get a reader's attention, although it is cool the way you explain it. Tack another sentence onto the beginning to help explain how it inspired you. That way, the way it inspired you is something that you can clarify throughout the rest of the essay. It can come right at the start of this first paragraph:

The cover of the book does not spark nearly as much interest as the words inside. It is a bland shade of beige with a black and white photo ...

As for giving adequate background for the book, I think you do not have to worry about that... the most important thing is what the reader learns about you.

You write very well!