Julie Beck explores how seeing our lives as narratives can actually affect us and our wellbeings. There were a few moments that made me sit up straighter, grabbed my attention, and pulled me back into the text. One of these instances was when she talked about how different ages affect our storytelling or the way we see things. When we are young adults still trying to navigate the world we often speak about the changes in our lives because it is a period of change, uncertainty, exploration, and new experiences. This compares to the stories of older adults, who often speak of more stable periods of their life because they usually have reached some kind of stability at that point in their lives, compared to the young adults. I connected to this idea because, as a young adult, I am in that stage of uncertainty and changing aspects of my own life, compared to say, my parents who may speak differently because they are older and have stability in their lives. Another part of Beck’s writing that stuck out to me was when she wrote about finding positive meaning in a negative situation leads to “a more complex sense of self and greater life satisfaction”. People who are always negative about every situation tend to be more miserable people. Without even somewhat of a positive outlook they may never see the bright side of things or grow positively from their experience which may lead to less life satisfaction. Another notable assertion that stuck out to me was the idea that looking at only yourself as a strong protagonist in your narrative without acknowledging others “comes at a cost to the other characters in your story” (Beck). I agree with the thought that other people play a large role in our lives, so it’s equally as important to recognize their actions as well.