I love human beings. We are fascinating creatures—beings—with a high sense of intellect and cognitive function, broad emotional bandwidth and unmatched expressions of ability and skill (e.g. construction, engineering, musical instruments, movies; innovation and creativity in a nutshell).

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I have developed what I originally coined as a "mosaic theory" to explain individuals becoming who they are. Since then, I have come into contact with the already established term, "financial theory in finance," which is not the same topic that I am referring to. So let's call this "Justin's Mosaic Theory," to mitigate confusion.

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It is my belief and argument that we are all a glass mosaic or woven tapestry of human experiences and interactions. Every fiber of ourselves has been a result of influences—cognitive or visceral—that have shaped who we are and how we see the world. Yet all of those fibers woven together or glass pieces arranged in their own unique way form a one-of-a-kind you—no one else in the world like you.

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For example, I can be curious about myself and my own life and wonder how I came to be me. As I consider it, the non-comprehensive list would include individuals like my parents, brother, grandparents, extended family, best friends growing up, professors, teachers, coworkers, religious and political figures, actors, songwriters, the stranger with the kind gesture or passing smile, authors, compassionate healthcare workers, historical figures (e.g. studying Walt Disney or President Abraham Lincoln as individuals), airport staff and the waitress or store associate who exhibited hospitality, warmth and surprising encouragement when you were troubled. All of these would relate to individuals that we could look towards as ways of being. I can look introspectively and see my Papaw, professors, counselors and people I admire culminating into the Justin I know today to be the authentic version of myself.

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But let's take it a step further with the human influence argument and say that we are also shaped by the bully at school, the past relationship that scarred us, the teacher who was unkind, an adult making a dismissive or critical remark that stung when you were a child, the irate customer at your job, the criminal who took action to harm us or our belongings and seeing authoritative, oppressive leaders in the news disregard human life and human freedoms. These, too, shape us as reference points of who we do not want to be.

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A slightly more undefined but impactful part of our mosaic construction is geographical influence. For example, growing up in Appalachia is instrumental in who I am. Seeing the Great Smoky Mountains or Blue Ridge Mountains, rushing rivers, country farms with rich green pastures, trains passing through limestone formations (i.e. Natural Tunnel State Park) and the "hollers" of the region where I grew up illicit a warm response in myself when I see them and my understanding of needing to protect these ancient and iconic geographical features.

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Interaction or admiration with animals teach us about ourselves as well. I think about my sweet, quick-to-forgive, always-excited-your-home dog, my cats who wanted to be nearby because quality time even without objective was time well spent, a young calf running to the fence when I got off of the bus because it was full of excitement to see me again, viewing a whale shark in the Georgia Aquarium and seeing the graceful movements of something so magnificent and my fascination with seeing Giant Pandas for the first time and feeling the weight of needing to conserve the planet for our endangered cohabitants. All of these spark a deeper sense of meaning of biological relationships and our responsibility to care appropriately for creatures expecting us to exist with kindness, show respect for habitations, find joy in the small things and re-learning the importance of being present in the given moment.

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Finally, I will argue that experiences shape us. This one is a little more visceral, abstract or simply messy to flesh out. But I can look to events of standing in the hospital room when my grandfather slipped away from this earth, attending a concert and feeling immense euphoria, rescuing a cat for the first time, visiting Biltmore Estate and learning about the delicate balance of artistic construction, conservation, economic development and importance of hospitality that allows us to connect with others, my anxiety of first and second piano recitals, panicking as an armed gunman entered my high school and hearing gunshots ring out through the hallways while law enforcement acted to stop him, having an individual on illicit substances point a firearm towards my car and shooting into the back of it on a rural road, standing on the top of the Empire State Building or Rockefeller Center and feeling life's troubles disappear as I realized how small I was, receiving the call that a family member was in critical condition with brain damage after an accident, swinging with my best friend in a small city park in Kingsport as we discusses silly, sad and serious things, laughing alongside strangers as Jerry Seinfeld did standup, crying when I saw the Capitol for the first time, admiring the arts on Broadway or sitting inside Barter Theatre, pride as I passed the Statue of Liberty on the Staten Island Ferry while wind blew through my hair, feeling the rush of President Obama and President Biden taking the stage alongside Senator John Fetterman and Governor Josh Shapiro at Temple University for my first-ever political rally—along with having never seen a U.S. president in person prior to this event, and the heavy experience of quietly, solemnly standing at Ground Zero numerous times and seeing an empty site slowly build back up with each subsequent visit. I could go on and on. The point here being that positive, joyful, mundane, hard and horrific experiences all blend together to impact how we see the world and we wish to engage with it.

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I write about this theory I have because I think it is important for all of us to recognize that we are all wonderfully unique—but with complex fragments of our past culminating together to form us into the people we are today. I think when we have this understand, we can take on greater humility of understanding our impact on others, are afforded greater grace to extend to ourselves and others who struggle with challenges without fault due to a hard past experience or toxic person in life, and it highlights our collective humanity as we try to make sense of this world—recognizing that our differences are outnumbered by what we share in common. Our mosaic continues to have glass pieces added to it daily and our life's tapestry intertwines more thread as we go on, but how wonderful it is to know that our stories matter and that everyone has exceptional worth in this life. I look forward to seeing how my mosaic continues to grow and the shimmering picture it leaves when I am confronted with the words, "Do not go gentle into that good night…" As American television producer Norman Lear said, "It's hard to be a human being, I have not failed to notice." Let us continue to be curious about ourselves as we grow and be compassionate with grace towards one another as we consider the mystery of this life's purpose alongside one another in the beautiful world of planet Earth.