Epiphany Research Paper

Epiphany “A teacher's day is half bureaucracy, half crisis, half monotony and one-eighth epiphany. Never mind the arithmetic.” -Susan Ohanian. According to Webster’s dictionary, epiphany is a Christian holiday. It’s also recognized as a manifestation of a divine superhuman being. An epiphany is multiple things actually; it’s the sudden knowledge or insight of something, it is a moment of revelation. An epiphany is when a light bulb suddenly lights above your head. You suddenly 'get it', everything falls into place and you realize something. To me it’s memories of past events. It’s all the things I’ve had to grow up and realize in my life.
When I was a child, at about 4 years old, epiphany, was simply a word that I used that meant, “CD”. There was a music album I had at the time called epiphany, so whenever I wanted music, I would simply say epiphany. It may seem odd but that’s how child’s minds work at that age, that’s how we communicate. We make our vocabulary for things we want or need, nearly all children until age four continue to make an extended definition for words. Epiphany to me meant that I wanted to listen to music. To anyone else, it’s just another word.
I was 5 years old when the September 11 attacks happened.
I was an overactive child with a desire to both achieve and rebel. I felt stupid for believing that the world was actually perfect and I still did, up until 9/11/01. I believed that I wouldn't get to start a family or travel or be a successful journalist or anything that only an adult could do. How was I supposed to become an actor, or a musician? When the 9/11 attacks occurred, I realized that maybe I wasn't the only person in the world who had to deal with this newborn anger and sadness. I realized that I needed to grow up and see the dangers in the world. I couldn’t be as careless as before. I had to grow up quick, because the world wasn’t going to slow down for
me.
The first time my brother ran away from home and came back home bloody and bruised, I suddenly realized that he won’t be with my family all the time. We were all going to grow up and move around, we won’t be able to take care of each other all the time. We still fight a lot, but I care about him and he knows it. It is a nightmare when you are faced with the death of a family member you are very close to. That epiphany also showed me that I need to help more in raising my sister and taking care of her.
When I was eleven years old, I came to realization that I wanted a profession in music. My whole life I've been wondering what I should do with my life. I dreaded when someone would ask me: "What do you want to go to college for?” or, “what do you want to do with your life?” I usually made some crap up on the spot. I noticed a lot of people around me were suffering. I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't help them. This made me feel bad, like I couldn’t do anything about it. I woke up one day, and decided” this is what I want to do. My personality fits the part. It's the only thing I'm interested in”. I can use music to make others feel better, find a joy. It's funny because I always pictured myself in a cubicle, making marketing calls or something.
An epiphany is more than just a holiday, it’s the memories I have. It’s every time I feel a little light bulb turning on in my head. It’s revealing my future to myself. I’ve grown up because of my epiphanies, how about you?