Inspired?

"All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself.”

--Ralph Ellison, From Invisible Man

How do the Inspired Bicycles presentation and the Ralph Ellison quote relate to your world? How should we examine our lives? Who are we? How shall we live? Should we follow our dreams? What are our realizations? Can the presentation and quotation connect with your academic endeavors? Did they make you look twice? Did they inspire and motivate you? Other reactions? Please connect and comment using complete sentences. This blog post should be completed by Friday, August 21st, 2009 at 2:30p.m.