After reading The Question of Originality and Writing and the Threshold of Life, I concurred that the art of writing is not as simple as I thought it was prior to being exposed to these essays. The knowledge and perspective of Jane Hirshfield was quite insightful to read as our first English assignment, due to the depth and unique outlook included regarding writing, poetry, art, and even life itself. One quote that stood out, in my opinion was "There are mountains hidden in mountains. There are mountains hidden in hiddenness." Personally, I perceived this metaphor to symbolize how life is full of mysteries, and things we are not aware of; and even once we make discoveries along our way, still present is a never-ending amount of the unknown still waiting to be uncovered. I also learned that, in fact, the most beneficial writing takes place individually, alone, and in silent solitude. These essays have stimulated my thoughts on how to write something "original" by explaining how the truth and authenticity is essential, and sometimes rebellion can have the outcome of achievement. The threshold theory is quite extreme, but can be utilized in a more casual sense to enhance a writer's thought process when creating a piece. Instead of over analyzing everything that can be written about, the threshold theory exhibits the mentality to let the various aspects of life come naturally. Additionally, recalling the past, pondering the future, and finding the place in between the two is necessary to originality, creativity, and innovation with anything that has been, or will be constructed.