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How do our beliefs about life shape how we view death? In the story "The School" by Donald Barthelme, the school in Eddy's life was depressing because everything seemed to have died, literally and figuratively. Eddy had many unpleasant  experiences in the school, like when kids had "two heart attacks and two suicides, one drowning, and four killed together in a car accident." (Barthelme 2), which has an impact on his viewpoint on life. Eddy's school is filled with misfortune and bad luck, from trees and animals rotting and dying, and even other humans experiencing the same fate. Death can be viewed in many different ways. People who experience life in an unsatisfying way, might want death to arrive quicker, because they feel that there is no meaning to life. People who had happy and positive experiences growing up, might not want life to end, because of how enjoyable it is. In our society, some deaths are caused because of conditions like depression, which is the main source of suicides. Stress and depression can also lead to diseases, and health problems. In order for our society to evolve and become a comfortable place for everyone, understanding people who live in a bad community, or are feeling stressed or depressed, and helping them is what's needed.

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The only way a person can understand what another is experiencing is facing it themselves.  In the book Words on bathroom walls there is a character adam. One quote that sums up my thinking isIt’s hard starting as a junior in a new school. "It’s significantly more difficult to make friends when people know you see things you shouldn’t be able to see."

It's important to have empathy. Being patient can help another be more calm and also be able to think better. Also its better to not assume whats going on with someone because you've never experienced it.  If a person were to say this person can stand because he has the disease autism he can be wrong. What if the person that had autism could stand and be like everybody else but also be different like everybody else. Many people go through stereotypes each day which is not a good thing. Just because he's a jock doesn't mean he can't be good at cooking. Also its never good to assume an experience especially if you haven't experienced it yourself. Empathy is important because people should assume or understand a person experience if they have not truly faced it themselves.

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To what extent can one person truly understand the experience of another? In the story "Words on Bathroom Walls", Adam shares his experience being a skitzophrenic teenage boy. Being so different from everyone else, it's difficult for Adam to socialize with others, including some of his own family members. He explains that he has trouble making friends because no one understands what he is going through, which helps prove that there is a limit to how much a person can truly understand the experiences of others. In this excerpt, Adam states "Nobody wants to be crazy, but now that I know what’s happening to me, now that I understand what’s going on in my head, I don’t want to think about what it means to know you’re crazy. To know that your family knows you’re crazy." He describes that it wasn't until he understood his illness that he actually felt different, and almost had an urge to escape his own thoughts. Considering that it is so difficult for Adam to understand what goes on in his own head, there is no way that other people can understand any better. To have empathy for someone and understand what they are going through, you must feel what they are feeling. It isn't possible to realistically put yourself in someone else's shoes, when you haven't experienced what they have. Thus, there is an extent one can truly understand the experience of another, if the people have not both gone through the same experience.

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Choice 2.
People from different backgrounds understand another's experience to the extent of how much the person shares and how much the person from another background can understand. Another person can only understand the experience of one person if the person shares in the first place. In Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton, Adam is a schizophrenic teen who sees things that others don't. He has been seeing things for a while without his mother knowing, but eventually has to tell her about it. Adam's mother could not have understood Adam's experience because Adam did not share it. There is no way Adam's mother could have known about Adam's experience unless she assumed it and assumed correctly. Furthermore, a person needs to be able to actually understand the experience of another person's experience. Adam mentions how his step-father is "afraid" of him. Adam's step-father doesn't know how to communicate and connect with Adam. He may have been able to connect if he had experienced an experience similar to Adam's experience. Adam's step-father was not able to understand Adams experience because he did not know how Adam could have felt or experienced.

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To what extent can one person truly understand the experience of another? In the story, " Words on Bathroom Walls", Adam is a sixteen year-old that struggles with schizophrenia. Adam feels like he is constantly excluded because of his condition. This condition causes him to hallucinate and see things that aren't actually there. Adam says that, "It’s hard starting as a junior in a new school. It’s significantly more difficult to make friends when people know you see things you shouldn’t be able to see". Adam's illness leads him to feel different and stick out. In Adam's case, people treat him weirdly because they don't understand his condition and that he can't control it. People are often quick to make assumptions about an individual based on their looks or personalities. These assumptions can be especially hurtful when they revolve around something a person cannot control.

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To what extent can one person truly understand the experience of another? In the story "Words on Bathroom Walls" by Julia Walton, Adam uses family life and relationships to get across how hard it is to be diagnosed as a schizophrenic. When Adam describes the relationship with his dad he says "He didn’t used to be afraid. It’s hard not to take that personally." Through showing this powerful of a relationship, it's easy to get across how painful it might be to have everyone in your family know your a schizophrenic. Using words like "afraid" and "personally" show that emotion and hardship in his relationship with his father. Another example of this is when Adam talks about his experience with friendship. He talks about how everyone was afraid of him after he was diagnosed, and as someone in a point of life where friendships are important, that information is the most powerful. Dealing with not having any friends can be tough, and that gets that emotion of helplessness across perfectly.

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One cannot fully understand the experience of another but they one can still empathize with a person. An average person would be able to empathize with another; them feeling what another would be feeling at that moment. As strong as empathy is, it cannot make one fully understand another, just fell what they feel. In the story "Words on bathroom walls" by Julia Walton the main character Adam is diagnosed with schizophrenia. After having a traumatic vision of bats and being confronted by his mom, Adam thinks "When she (His mom) started crying, I wished the bats had been real. That the creepy little bastards had eaten me in the chemistry lab and I’d never had to see the way my mom looked at me in that moment: like I was crazy." The average person cannot understand what Adam is going through, they do not have schizophrenia and most likely do not have visions of things that do not exist. However, a person could empathize with Adam. Adam does not want hurt anyone around him or make people around him think that he is strange or an outsider. At a time in almost everyone's life one can feel like an outsider or not feel like they are understated by others. This is a next to universal feeling, even if schizophrenia is not. This is why almost everyone can feel what others can but not necessarily understand.

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To what extent can one person truly understand the experience of another? In the story "Words on Bathroom Wall" by Julia Walton, Adam is diagnosed with schizophrenia and was hesitant to tell his family. He has a hard time making friends and fitting in at school. He has been reluctant during his therapy sessions to open up and engage. "I don’t always say the things I mean to say when I talk to someone. It’s impossible to swallow words after letting them out", which is how he expresses who he is and that it's hard for him to talk about his diagnosis. He described how he feels of being unusual since he was diagnosed so young. He feels crazy and that no one can understand what he is going through. To some extent people can understand and experience, but no one can fully have the exact same view or feelings towards an experience. People can just feel empathetic if they can't understand what you're going through. No one can feel the same way if they have truly not faced it or experienced it themselves.

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To what extent can one person truly understand the experience of another? The short story "Words on The Bathroom Wall" by  Julia Walton, Adam seems to be suffering  from an illness called "ToZaPrex". He seems to be able to hallucinate certain situations and see things that aren't real. Through his illness, he seems to be viewed as an "outcast" or "unusual". In society, empathy is an important tactic for understanding the feelings of others. Being able to know and understand how other individuals feel can show a sense of "togetherness" towards the other person. For example, throughout the course of quarantine I was suffering through a depressive episode where I felt so alone and isolated in my feelings and thoughts. However, many of my fellow friends were able to empathize with me and create a safespace where I didn't feel so alone as I did. Empathy can make an individual feel comfortable in their feelings and create a space where they can share them. Even though it doesn't completely stop them from feeling the way they are feeling, it can help them feel included and not as "crazy" as they thought they were.

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There is a certain extent to how much one person can understand about another. No one is able to actually read the mind of another and see their thoughts to actually understand what they are going through. Just because people aren't able to do that doesn't mean they can't understands another. Another way they can do that is by listening, learning, and inferring off of the things others say, the way they look, and just what they do. In the excerpt from "Words on Bathroom Walls" by Julia Walton, Julia explains "When she started crying, I wished the bats had been real. That the creepy little b******s had eaten me in the chemistry lab and I’d never had to see the way my mom looked at me in that moment: like I was crazy." People aren't able to understands Adam's disease. They don't understand what he is going through and just see him as a psycho from the things he does and the way he acts. Adams family doesn't accept who he is and just treats him differently because they don't know how to respond. His family sees him as crazy because of something he can't control. They base his whole personality and life off of his illness and are not capable of understanding that his illness won't change anything about him.

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People can understand other people's experiences when they are able to realize they are different people. In Word on Bathroom Walls Adam has a rare disease for his age, and this causes him to lose many relationships. Adam realizing that "Now that he knows about me, about the illness, things are different." Walton uses "things are different" to set a tone sorrow. Now that "things are different" the meaning of his relationship with his dad changes. His dad being a healthy adult male cannot feel what Adam is feeling. In society everyone lacks the skills to always be kind and emphasize. But the people who are able to realize their mistakes and know that everyone is different can others to do the same.

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To what extent can one person truly understand the experience of another? In the the excerpt from "Words on bathroom Walls" by Julia Walton, Adam suffers from a disease. He can see things that people should not be able to see. Not a lot of people have this dessies so a lot of times it can be hard to relate to them or understand their experiences. However they are human and they still can relate to us in the same way that we can relate to others. Adam has gone through a lot, he likes to ignore things that he does not like or that makes him uncomfortable. Like said in the excerpt when his mom asked him what he saw. "I didn’t answer her right away. I took off my spectacles and tried to pretend she wasn’t there, that she had faded out of the room after asking the question. I’m good at making myself believe these things, but it was harder this time." He took off his glasses so he would not see her. He did not want to see her because if he saw her than that means that she is actually there and he has to answer her question. He says that he is "good at making myself believe these things" that means that he has been in these kind of situations before. He has learned how to tune different things out.

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People from different backgrounds understand another's experience by befriending them and getting to know them that way. In the story, "Words on Bathroom Walls." by Julia Walton, the main character, Adam, is a kid who struggles with a disability that causes him to see things that he is afraid of. One day, he looked up at the ceiling during a class, and saw huge black bats. He fell to the floor screaming. Stereotypically, he would most likely be known as the "weird" kid or the kid "seeking for attention." Many people's traits are often mistaken because of disabilities out of their control. Friendly approaching a kid, befriending them, or nicely asking a question about a topic is the best way to learn more about a disibility as long as it's inoffensive. It can also help someone get social interaction with others. And that's really good for them.

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Choice 1.
I think that some people go through the same experiences as another but even through those same experiences they are not the same. As an example a large sum of people get bullied at school. Not any to people who get bullied are bullied in the same way. The other victims of bullying understand the feelings but do not understand the experience. Another example is people with a condition that makes them stand out of be different. Like Adam there are other people who stand out in a way that might not be pleasant. Not all kids who have a condition go through a tough situation like this "I didn’t tell her that they were twice the size of regular bats or that they had human eyes or that their tiny fangs hung like needles from their mouths." but they still end up feeling uncomfortable and badly about themselves. I think that people who share experiences good and bad can understand the way it feels but do not truly understand to the extent someone else feels it or goes through it. Some people go through things worse than others so a person with a mild way of getting through things might think they understand the feelings of another with the same issue but they are actually taking it way harder and have a harder time than the others think. Different people think they understand but they do not truly feel or have felt the way others do.

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To what extent can one person truly understand the experience of another?

In the excerpt from Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton Adam's life changed drastically and caused the people around him to not understand what he is going through as much. People that arn't going through the same thing as one another can understand fully what they are going though. Adam's parents can only understand what he is going though by what Adam, his doctors, and his therapist tells them and they get their information from Adam. Adam being a schizophrenic teenager boy he has a hard time fighting in and when people don't understand what he is going though, they stereotype them for who the aren't. In society, people stereotype people based on what they see and here and don't understand fully what is happening to one person when they arn't going through the same thing. People can only understand what people understand what someone is going through to some extent because they arn't going through that same exact experience.

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To what extent can one person truly understand the experience of another?
In the story ¨Words On Bathroom Walls¨ by Julia Walton. can make the reader understand that just because you have read about something or taken time out of your day to learn about something, does not mean that you personally would be ready for something like that if it would ever happen. but you can't say that you really understand it, unless you have been through it personally. it's important to make sure you know things before you just go off and say them. ¨The weirdest feeling, aside from seeing things that aren’t actually there, is sitting on the couch next to a grown man who is suddenly afraid of me. He didn’t used to be afraid. It’s hard not to take that personally.¨ i think that his own step father being afraid of him really made it hard for him to still feel as comfortable as he used to before they knew. in conclusion i think that individuals cannot fully understand something if they have not had to experience it themselves.

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To what extent can a person truly understand the experience of another?

In the excerpt "Words on bathroom walls" Adam, a Schizophrenic 16 year old boy, isn't understood by anyone. Adam recently moved schools, being the new, "weird" kid, it's obviously difficult to build friendships. Adam, having Schizophrenia, sees things that aren't necessarily there. when he does he has a reaction, just as anyone would if they saw things as he does. This creates assumptions about Adam ,although no one knows how truly difficult it is for him. In this excerpt, Adam states "It’s hard starting as a junior in a new school. It’s significantly more difficult to make friends when people know you see things you shouldn’t be able to see.'' This shows how he struggles and goes through prejudice specifically based on his diagnosis. Society tends to judge others and their experiences although they haven't experienced it themselves. So, really, nobody can understand others' experience until they have truly experienced it themselves.

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To what extent can one person truly understand the experience of another?
Sometimes individuals are able to relate to others experiences, but not always. In the story "Words on Bathroom Walls" by Julia Walton, we are able to understand and learn what Adam Petrazelli goes through as a teen suffering from Schizophrenic. He sees things that no one else can see. He says hes different, not like everyone else. Adam is ashamed of what he is and doesn't like the way other people look at him. He knows that people think of him as unusual and can't relate to him. Just like how Adam said "It’s hard starting as a junior in a new school. It’s significantly more difficult to make friends when people know you see things you shouldn’t be able to see." It can be difficult to try to fit in when everyone else already knows that your not like them. Especially teens, who don't really know how to act in front of someone or talk to someone who is different from them. So without the ability to understand someone experience and understand that person, things can become difficult.

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How can people from different backgrounds understand another’s experience? In the excerpt from Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton, the main character Adam is struggling with his diagnosis of Schizophrenia. His whole school finds out and his mom does not know what to do. Adam's stepdad understands what is going on with Adam and offers for him to go to a private school. In the text it says "He was the one who suggested the new private school instead of tossing me back into a school where all the kids knew there was something wrong with me." This shows that even though his stepdad is an attorney, he still understands what is happening with Adam, and tries to help him. Adam starts to see things in his brain, and starts to go crazy. No one understood what was happening with him. His mom even just thought that he was going crazy. The only person who actually feels empathy for him is the stepdad. Even though the stepdad comes from a different background, and probably did not get this diagnosis.

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To what extent can one person truly understand the experience of another? In the Novel, Words on Bathroom Walls, by Julia Walton, teenager Adam Petrazelli has been living with Schizophrenia, a rare brain disorder that causes him to have hallucinations. This disorder often leaves him isolated, as it sometimes pushes those around him away, such as when his stepdad became afraid of him. "Now that he knows about me, about the illness, things are different. He doesn’t know what to do with me anymore. We’ll still sit and watch TV, but I can almost hear him thinking when I’m in the room. The weirdest feeling, aside from seeing things that aren’t actually there, is sitting on the couch next to a grown man who is suddenly afraid of me. He didn’t used to be afraid"(Walton 3). People's lack of understanding of Adams conditions have left Adam angry, and wishing he never had Schizophrenia in the first place. It is difficult to understand another's experience when they are going through something that is hard to empathize with. The people in Adams life do not understand him. His stepdad is scared of him. The people at his school don't understand him. It is hard for people to understand someone with Schizophrenia, because they cannot empathize with it. They cannot imagine what the person is going through, and they probably don't want to. This leaves people with similar conditions isolated and alone.

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Choice 1:
A person can never fully understand a person's experience. No matter how similar your situation could be to someone else's, no one can ever fully understand another person experience. In the story "Words on Bathroom Walls" by Julia Walton, Adam, a 16 year old boy, suffers from schizophrenia. In the story he tells the reader his experiences with schizophrenia. When he is starting a new school he think "It’s hard starting as a junior in a new school. It’s significantly more difficult to make friends when people know you see things you shouldn’t be able to see." Very few people in the world can relate to Adam. Not many people understand him. Since he has few friends not many people are there for him. Going into a new school Adam no one has gone through exactly what Adam has gone through. Many people make friends from having things in common and relating to each other experiences. As Adam struggles with his disease he understands not many people can understand him. This excerpt shows a good example of why No one can truly understand what another person experiences.

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How can people from different backgrounds understand another's experience?
People from different backgrounds can learn about others to learn more about each other and accept them for who they are. In the excerpt from the story "Words on Bathroom Walls" by Julia Walton, Adam has condition which makes him see things that he is not supposed to see. Adam had and outburst when he saw big crows, which made his class recognize that he is able to see things others can not. Adam reflects on this event, "It’s significantly more difficult to make friends when people know you see things you shouldn’t be able to see" (Walton 3). Adam has this condition that he can not get rid of, and it makes him self conscious and limits his ability to make friends, because if people know about his condition they may think that he is weird. In a society where one is different from others, they can feel left out and have trouble making friends. To break free from this, one can educate others on what makes them different. They can inform them on why their difference makes them special, and how others can help them feel more included in a society of people who are different from them. This can help others be more comfortable with their difference, and make the person with the difference feel more included. That is how people from different backgrounds can understand others.

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A person cannot truly understand something another person has gone through unless they have gone through the same experience. In the story, "Words on Bathroom Walls," by Julia Walton, Adam is struggling with a disease called schizophrenic which means that he sees things in the air that others do not see. Even his stepdad cannot really understand his stepson, and Adam expresses this by saying, "Now that he knows about me, about the illness, things are different. He doesn’t know what to do with me anymore. We’ll still sit and watch TV, but I can almost hear him thinking when I’m in the room. The weirdest feeling, aside from seeing things that aren’t actually there, is sitting on the couch next to a grown man who is suddenly afraid of me (Walton 2)." Adam's dad will never be able to understand Adam. Adam's stepfather does not have his disease, and he cannot have empathy for his stepson if he has not gone through the same experience as him. This is why they cannot connect with each other. People need to go through the same experience as another person to truly understand them. I lost my grandfather when I was a few years old. I really miss him even though I did not know him very well in those times. My friends may say "sorry for your loss" but they will never truly understand where I am coming from unless they lose a grandparent. This is why a person cannot truly have empathy unless they have gone through the same experience.

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Question: To what extent can one person truly understand another’s experience?

In the story, “Words on the Bathroom Walls”, by Julia Walton Adam learns he has Schizophrenia and he learns that people will treat him differently once they find out he is different. Later he learns that even close family members and friends will treat him differently, and distance themselves from Adam. In the context of the novel, Adam’s family can only slightly understand what he is. In the story Adam’s family doesn’ understand what Adam is going houg. Though his family might be sympathetic they don’t understand what he is going through and how he feels. Even though someone is different doesn’t give you a right to treat them differently. Sometimes in life people pretend to know what you’ve experienced even when they haven't actually experienced it. People don't actually know what someone else has experienced if they haven't actually had the exprierence. Throughout the book we learn that people can only truly understand another’s experience if they had gone through that experience.