"I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise . . . Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man."

Whitman portrays a connection between all people of all ages and genders. Despite a great diversity in people's background and lifestyle, he believes we are all connected. He wants us to realize that if we look at the bigger picture, we all are somewhat the same. We all have a little bit of foolishness. We all can be wise at times. And our mothers can act paternally while our fathers can act maternally. Despite our main characteristics and traits, none of us are perfect which is another thing we all have in common. We all make mistakes like a child would, but sometimes a child can act with a maturity of understanding just like that of a man's.
The poem reveals Whitman to portray himself as united with all men. Whitman feels as if he is one of the same. I think it teaches the reader that no matter how much different we think we are from one another, we are all of the same. In a way he is saying our diversity through jobs, religion, and environment, is really how we are united and all connected through diversity.

An event that shaped me as a person took place in the second grade. I show up to school wearing my favorite pink sweater with ruffles on it. I was new to the school and began hanging out with this group of girls at lunch. A girl named Grace was the head of the pack and everything she said the other girls agreed with. When i came up to sit with them at recess she made fun of my sweater and called me names along with the other girls. My mom picks me up from school, and i break out in tears. That's when she played a song for me by the spice girls called Our Lips Our Sealed and made me listen to the lyrics that said, "pay no mind to what they say, doesn't matter anyway". Since then I have never been bullied and if i am teased about something I either stick up for myself or do not let it get to me. I learned that if you are confident in yourself people are less likely to tease you and if you are teased and you act like you don't care, they will stop. If i could go back to that event i would have said to Grace, "well i like my pink sweater, it's designer, and if you were updated on your fashion you would know. Plus if i wanted your opinion I'd ask for it." 

During our socratic seminar, i was most interested in the conversation of whether animals are evil. It made me question the difference between animals and humans. I personally don't think animals are evil nor can commit evil but i do think they can love. I know many whales and elephants mourn when they lose a child. I think animals are a mystery and there is a lot we do not understand even if we think we do. It's strange, i can watch a movie where a human dies or is killed and not cry at all or be sad. But when i see a dog or animal get shot or killed in a movie i will ball my eyes out. This is because i feel all animals are innocent and cannot commit evil. I love animals because they can be smart and emotional just like humans, but they can never be evil.