The age old question… Who’s at my table? A question asked throughout cafeterias and during many seating arrangements. We’ve recently been tasked with answering that question but it’s much more than just seeing who’s sitting at which cafeteria table. I’ll explain.

We’ve recently been asked to think about people who inspire us and who we look up to and narrowing our lists down to just five people. We then did two things with our list of inspiring people. One was making a visual with our five inspiring people and ourselves together. Although the assignment is asking us who’s at our table, some people got pretty creative with how they displayed their heroes on their visual. The other thing we were supposed to do was write a 9-12 sentence paragraph about each person and why we look up to them. We were given some time in-class to make a rough draft of our visual and think of some people we looked up to. Once we did that, we were ready to get down to business and write down our paragraphs and good drafts of our visuals.

I started off by writing my paragraphs as I felt that the general ideas of my paragraphs might help me with making my visual. I had a lot to say about each of the people I look up to, and felt pretty comfortable with the amount of sentences we were assigned to do for each of them. It allowed me to make a lot of concise points about why I look up to the people on my list which definitely worked out.
Here are the people I chose…

Parents:

Probably one of the easiest people to think of for sitting at my table, I would have to say that my parents are by far one of the top choices for me. It’s hard to imagine a world without them. My parents shaped who I am. Their own personalities and traits were passed on to me, for better or for worse. They’re some of the most supportive people I know as well. They’ll almost always back up my decisions and choices, whether it’s clothing, sports, etc, which is why it’s so easy for me to be open with them and not have to worry about judgement. Lastly, they are some of the most kind and caring people I know. They always welcome people with open arms, and primarily put other people’s needs in front of their own. My parents mean my whole world for me, and I’m very grateful for having them in my life being the supportive, kind, and outgoing people that they are.

Scotty Cranmer:
One of the legends for biking. Scotty Cranmer is definitely one of the most inspiring people at my table, primarily for a few things. Scotty is a pro BMX rider and consistently shows himself pushing other people to challenge themselves on his YouTube videos. For example, Scotty’s little brother Matty credits him for his pro status because he would always push him and himself to prove that there is always a better you. Scotty also shows his persistence and love for BMX through the many serious crashes that he’s had throughout his career. He’s broken his back, knocked out his teeth, and most recently, has broken his neck and is unable to walk for now. Lastly, even after Scotty’s horrendous crash leaving him unable to walk, he works hard and trains every single day to get better and fully recover and will eventually return to his BMX which was responsible for his crash! He’s currently recovering at a much faster speed than average and always has his eye on the ball for coming back to BMX and walking which he has accomplished due to all the work he’s put in for recovering. Scotty Cranmer has definitely shown that there is always a better version of yourself, that anything can be done if you put your mind to it, and that you can always follow your dreams and passions no matter what happens.

Big Boy:
Back on the topic of bikes, there’s another person that definitely comes to mind when I think about it and that person is Alex Whistance, much more commonly known as the Official Big Boy. Big Boy is one of Scotty Cranmer’s best friends and if there’s any other person I look up to more than Scotty, it’s Big Boy and for many good reasons. For starters, Big boy is one of the goofiest and most lighthearted people I’ve seen. He’s managed to stay positive even after his best friend nearly having a fatal accident and having to take care of him which I give major props to him for that. He also doesn’t cease to make me laugh when I see him online as he is just so silly and outgoing. He is also a doer. What I mean by that is that he does anything he puts his mind to. For example, he has managed to lose almost 130 pounds in eleven months just because he wanted to become a better person. He has also progressed massively on his BMX. I also look up to him because he never backs down from a challenge. He has managed to do so much in the past eleven months of me knowing about him and watching his growth is such a cool thing to see. Big Boy is one of the funniest, craziest, and open guys I have seen and for that, he definitely gets a seat at my table.

Jeremy Lin:
I love sports in general and one of my favourites is basketball, so when I think about basketball and the NBA, I think about Jeremy Lin. Definitely one of the most devoted and busiest people of the group, Jeremy Lin definitely has a spot on my table for the following reasons. Jeremy Lin is one hundred percent devoted to basketball and trying to make something of himself. He, like many basketball players, train every single day to maintain their physical shape and health to play their best during games, and usually only gets one week i a year to see family. Jeremy Lin also makes sure to stay himself during games. He always talks about his mindset during games and mentions that he still tries to keep the game fun and to keep a smile on his face. Lastly, he seems to be very in touch with small communities and his culture. He goes to potlucks and cultural collaborations from time to time and is also seen hanging out with normal people he finds in parks or public basketball courts, which definitely shows how nice he seems to be around and how down to Earth he is. Jeremy Lin, although not being a legend, definitely sticks out for me as his devotion to basketball and culture, along with keeping a light mood for serious games is something I look up to.

Donald Glover:
Music, shows, and movies take a huge part of my life and while I was thinking about that, someone instantly came to mind. No doubt one of the most diverse of the group, Donald Glover definitely earns a seat at my table. Donald Glover has starred in shows, movies, and made a huge fan base with his music and it really goes to show that going for what you want can pay off. For example, he’s climbed up the ladder for his acting career and went from being a support character in a comedy show to starring in the upcoming Star Wars movie and directing/starring in his own show. I also respect that he’s humble and isn’t such a loud presence in the world compared to most celebrities. It seems that all that hard work and climbing he’s had to do to make it to the top really humbled him and turned him away from that crazy party lifestyle many celebrities live. He also really shows that anything can be done. With all the work he put into everything he did, it’s easy to believe that Donald Glover became successful at everything he did and that focusing his efforts on one thing at a time, he could really produce high quality work. Overall, Donald Glover is a very well rounded person that definitely works hard at everything he does and avoids the heavy drug/party life many celebrities experience which is very respectable and is definitely why I look up to him.

What I finally came up with was this final draft right here.

Those are all the people I chose to “sit at my table.” I really enjoyed this assignment as it definitely made me use some skills I haven’t really used in the past such as instant alpha which was how I cut out the backgrounds from the people for my visual. I hope you enjoyed reading this and got to learn a little more about me from the people I look up to!