The Internet is home to seemingly endless amounts of web pages. In this day and age pretty much anything can be found on the Internet, even something that can accurately represent ones’ self. For me, finding web media that represents myself proved to be simple. I first stumbled upon an Adidas advertising campaign that contained the slogan “Impossible is Nothing.” What seemed to be the main video for the campaign was the one that really struck a chord with my identity. The dramatic video begins with the word “impossible” being repeated in many different languages while various phrases flash on the screen that are synonymous to impossible. The video then goes into explaining why no task should be considered impossible. The video contains many examples of occurrences and stories of athletes that defied overwhelming adversity to rise to be the best of their time. It took huge amounts of dedication and determination for the athletes in the advertisement to reach the pinnacles of their respective sports, and I possess great respect for each of the people mentioned in the video. The video then ends with the message that no challenge that people face should be seen as impossible (and then they flash the Adidas sign).

The phrase “Impossible is Nothing” represents my mindset about life. I live a runner’s lifestyle and a requirement of being a successful runner is the mindset that no goal is out of your reach. I train every day and continuously work towards goals. Despite not enjoying every single step of the way, I always stick to my training schedule and work as hard as I can to achieve what I want to achieve. Even though I am not running competitively anymore, I am still dedicated to the sport and determined to push myself so I can accomplish what is seemingly beyond my full potential. As a runner, I cannot believe that any time or distance is impossible, and this mindset carries over to the rest of my life. I am always a calm and collected person because of this belief, and even when I feel as if I have too much work, I know that it is not impossible to finish all of it to the best of my ability.

I also identified with the stories of the athletes in the video. While I did not break through nearly as much barriers to success as any of them, I still had to continuously push myself in order to be successful at running. Throughout high school, I ran injured, whether it was to help my team, or because I myself refused to believe that I was hurt, I continued to race as hard as I could and I refused to rest until I could not physically help my team race anymore. I firmly believed that it was possible to continue to compete at a high level even with an injury and I even made deals with my coaches to let me prove that to them. I managed to run in the state championships with a dislocated leg and foot and make it onto my school’s top twenty All-Time Best cross-country runners list with a torn ligament in my back. These experiences helped me to understand that impossible is possible when people put their minds and all their resources towards achieving what may appear impossible, or discovering a way to make the seemingly impossible possible.

While the video represents my overall attitude and my identity as a runner, there are a few changes that I would make to it. First, the video is too long. The stories of the athletes are nice, but there are simply too many of them. The same points could have been made with fewer examples. Also, the fact that it makes a sales pitch at the end takes away from the meaning of the rest of the video. While it is an advertisement, and therefore needs to make some sort of reference to Adidas, for the purposes of representing me, I would take out the advertising factor (especially since I tend to use Nike products). Other than those changes, I would keep the rest of the video the same. The serious tone and the ideas imparted upon the viewers all represent parts of my identity.

While the picture of the paratroopers looking at the Western Wall, in Jerusalem, represents the same ideas as the video (determination, dedication, and never accepting the impossible), it also serves to represent my Jewish identity. The picture was taken in 1967 during the Six Day War fought in Israel. During the war, Israel was fighting on all 3 borders and the picture was taken when the Israeli Defense Forces took control of Jerusalem and the Western Wall, the epicenter of Jewish life and identity. I consider Judaism to be a huge part of my life. I grew up in a Jewish home, I went to a Jewish school for about 12 years, I work in the summer at a Jewish camp, and I attend religious services every week on Shabbat (the Sabbath). Along with my Jewish identity comes a strong connection to Israel. I feel as if Israel is my second home and at the end of this past school year, I travelled throughout the country and met family and friends that I had not seen in a long time.

In the picture, my Jewish identity is represented by the awed expressions of the paratroopers as they become the first Jews in decades to look upon the Western Wall. Their expressions were probably similar to my own as I saw the Wall for the first time. Also, the image of them in their military uniforms represents my connection to Israel as a country. They were fighting for the right for Israel to exist and had they not possessed a deep love for their country, it might not exist today.

People can find whatever they want on the Internet; they just need to know how to look for it. Within the millions (maybe billions, I would not know the exact count) of web pages there is some type of media that a person can identify with. For me, the picture and the video I found represent a large portion of my life, and it took my only twenty minutes to find them.

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Works Cited

http://www.judaicaheaven.com/stores/judaicaheaven/catalog/JP7.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXVnIgMKREw