Write an informative essay in which you explain what can cause a significant change in someone’s life, how it might have a lasting effect, and what it tells you about someone who has undergone a meaningful change. Develop your topic with relevant facts, details, and information from the texts. Write an explanatory essay in response to the following question: What can cause a significant change in someone’s life? Develop a clear thesis, or controlling idea, in response to the prompt. Then, use sufficient examples and quotations from the selections that you read in this unit to support your response. Your essay should be logically organized and include transitions to show the relationships between ideas. Be sure to maintain a formal style and tone in your writing. YOU MUST USE THE STORIES in this unit 3 to SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER in the body paragraphs!

HERES THE STORIES

in April of 2012, 25-year-old Nick Kleckner was working as
an electrician and cabdriver in northern California. And then,
suddenly, he found himself at a crossroads. He left it all—his job,
his family, his friends—and bought a one-way plane ticket to
Jacksonville, Florida. He had a bold plan in mind. He was going
to walk to California with virtually nothing on his back. He hoped
the journey would change his life, but he had no idea how!
Nick, who was not exactly prepared, had nothing in the way
of survival skills, so he planned to survive on the goodness of the
people he met on the road.
Using the handle “Hobo Nick,” Nick began his journey on
April 5, leaving Jacksonville with a backpack, a sleeping bag,
and a travel kit. He also had an iPod and the ability to receive
Internet service. Throughout the journey, he would document his
experience in minute detail and send daily updates to his mother,
who’d post them on his blog.
The question is: Why? What would make someone take off like
that? Nick had a comfortable life. He had a good income, a house,
a new car, and a new motorcycle. He was moving forward with
his life. By society’s standards he should have been happy—but he
wasn’t.
Nick was in a rut. His life felt repetitive and boring. It lacked
a higher purpose. He felt he wasn’t growing as a person. He had
“things” but didn’t appreciate them. “It got to the point where I
couldn’t deal with everything anymore,” Nick said later. “I felt a
lot of pressure, stress, and anxiety and decided to get out.”
As Hobo Nick, he trekked across miles of scorched desert and
endured nights of pounding rain. In the towns and cities, heslept on the street, where he knew that there were people to help
him out.
Even with help, it was a hard journey. Nick would sometimes
go days without food, or search dumpsters for things to eat. But
whenever he felt that he had more than he needed, he decided
to “pay it forward” by giving to other folks he encountered
on his way. Paying it forward was one of Nick’s goals on his
journey—giving more than he received. If he was offered money
or a gift card he didn’t need, he gave it away to people who did.
He was surprised at people’s generosity along the way. There was
a time in Mississippi when the cars actually pulled over to the side
of the road to check on him and give him money. The experience
taught him a valuable lesson: if you share what you have, and
help others as much as possible, you will never be stranded.
In his blog, Nick chronicled the important changes brought
about by his selfless lifestyle and rejection of material things.
He has learned to live in the moment and to be thankful for
everything he has.
On September 29, after an epic 2,500-mile walk across the
North American continent, Nick managed to make it all the way
to Huntington Beach, California. More than a hundred family
members, friends and well-wishers were waiting for him. During
the six months of his journey, he destroyed five pairs of shoes and
lost about 55 pounds.
In the future, Nick plans to do another cross-country trip. “The
point is always to give more than you take,” he says, adding that
“the biggest takeaway from this experience is to have realized that
mankind is better than I ever dreamed.” ❧