“Don’t you really know, Durbeyfield, that you are the lineal representative of the ancient and knightly family of the d’Urbervilles, who derive their descent from Sir Pagan d’Urberville, that renowned knight who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror, as appears by Battle Abbey Roll?” Do you think your life would change if you were suddenly told you were a descendant of some famous person? In what way? Why not? How significant do you think it would have to be to change you? Do you think you would change for the better or worse?
19 Comments
Kelsey Iven
2/21/2017 03:09:30 pm
I would like to think that my life wouldn't change very much. I don't want to become a totally different person just because I found out that I have a famous relative. If I inherited money from my famous relative I might want to buy a nicer house and car but I wouldn't want my personality to change. I feel like it would be like winning the lottery, more people would try to become my friend just because I have money and I wouldn't like that. I think it would change me for the better because I would have nicer things, but I wouldn't want to change my whole life.
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Jenna Obenauer
2/22/2017 05:56:16 pm
There's no doubt that if I found out that I'm the descendant of a famous person my life would change. Hopefully, it wouldn't be who I am that changes, just life in general. Obviously, if there is some kind of inheritance involved, it would impact me more, especially if there was money involved. If I had to change, I feel like it would be for the better. Figuring out that I'm the descendant of a famous person could mean that I could pay for college or buy a new car. I don't want to be one of those people who finds out they're famous and transforms into a completely different person. Sure, there would be benefits to being the descendant of a famous person, but I wouldn't want to change.
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Cassidy Hill
2/22/2017 07:53:04 pm
Through genealogy my family has discovered that we are related to the European king Charlemagne. He is a notable historical figure but it did not change me. I think that if there had not been such a large amount of time between our lives or any kind of claim to inheritance then it would have affected my personality more. If we were to suddenly get money because we were related to him then I think it would change me for the better. I think this because then I would know that I had money to pay for college I could enjoy myself more not have to worry. The only way that my life has changed since we found out was that we talk about European history more often now at family gatherings. I do not think that any other notable ancestors would change my personality at all.
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Brock Feeler
2/23/2017 05:21:27 pm
I feel there is no doubt that I would change in some way, but at the same time I have lived normally for so many years how would I change. I think it would be really cool to be related to a once high raking person in society, but what good would that do for me if there isn’t anything that comes with it but a name. I would have pride in the last name, but I don’t think that being very distantly related to a famous person would change me. I think it would be more significant for me if the famous person was closely related to me and not so distantly related.
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Michala Clark
2/23/2017 06:40:41 pm
I believe that my life would change to some degree if I was told I was a descendant of a famous person. People view you differently when they know you are from a higher ranking class, even if you do not want to be viewed as different. Think of people who win the lottery, everyone suddenly wants to be your friend. Even if you do not have money tied to your name, your name alone has some pull when dealing with others. This may not be a significant change to every day life because there is no money guaranteed to be yours. I would view the change as indifferent, neither good or bad.
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Teegan Helton
2/26/2017 02:01:22 pm
I think my life would change drastically even if I did not want it to. If I suddenly discovered that I was related to a celebrity with millions of fans, I think I would be happy in a way but I wouldn't want to brag too much. If other people discovered that I was related to this celebrity, they might think that because of that, I have connections and money. I think that I would change a bit but not much. Hopefully it wouldn't be in a bad way.
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Brandi Simmons
2/26/2017 04:05:02 pm
I think that my life would change, but I would like to think that I would not change. I think if others learned that I was related to some famous person they would threat me differently. They wouldn't want to be my friend for me but for my relative and whatever connections I might have. I think I would change for the better by helping others with any money I would have. I would be able to pay for college and I might even buy a new car but I would want to help people in need more than just getting fancy things for myself.
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Taylor Alexander
2/27/2017 12:07:04 pm
If I were to suddenly find out that I was related to someone famous, I would like to believe that who I am as a person would not change but my life in general might. I feel like if I was related to someone from the past it would not be that big of an impact. It would probably have to take someone from present day to really impact my life. I like to think that my everyday life would be the same if it was someone who was famous long ago but if it was someone more recent, people might treat me different and that would change my life if I liked it or not. Either way, I would want to my personality to stay the same. I would not let it get to my head and make me start treating people differently just because I was related to someone famous.
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Joey Schulte
2/27/2017 12:34:01 pm
My life probably would not change that much if I was told I was the descendant of some famous person. If I discovered that I was a descendant of a famous person I would think that it would be a cool fact and not much else. Probably the biggest change that it would have on my life is I would have a neat fact to tell people. The only way that my life could majorly change would be if I was to inherit something from that person. However, if I was the descendant of a famous person I feel like I probably would not inherit anything. If nothing else I would think that it would be cool to be able to be related to someone who had a significant impact on history.
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Austin James
2/27/2017 02:28:26 pm
If I was informed that I was related to some famous person or came from some rich or royal blood, my life would be somewhat changed. I would spend quite a bit of time trying to track my history and see how I am related to them. I would not go crazy though and think that I have to act like I'm above people just because I am related to somebody famous. I would still be myself but would be intruged that I am blood relation to somebody famous or have royal family. I've always wanted to learn more about my relations and where my family came from, so if I learned something like this I would be very happy and astounded by it. In the end, I believe it wouldnt change me alot and the little bit it did change me would be a good change.
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Emily Shanks
2/27/2017 03:40:40 pm
I really could not see my life changing that much just because I found out I was related to somebody who had a royal last name. I don't see that my life would really change all that much because unless they were going to give me money all I would have is pride that I had the same last name as them. I don't feel like I would be the one to go and seek them out to find out if they would be willing to give me money. I can't see anyone with money just handing it out to others who shared their last name. Even if I did get money from someone because I was related to them I don't think it would change my life that much. I might have some nicer things but I feel like I would still be me. I would still have my friend and I would still have my family. I don't really see that it would change me, it might make my life a bit easier, I would be able to pay for school and maybe even travel without worrying about spending to much money. Even with all these things I still feel like I would still be me and I would be able to use my judgement and let have a title or money go to my head.
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Timmy
2/27/2017 04:35:54 pm
I would not change whatsoever. If I was suddenly enlightened that I am a descendant of royal lineage, It would not affect me. I would still be the person I am today. A person's position in this world is based on how other people see you. Nobody is gonna care if I am descended from royalty if I am not rich. That title does not make me feel any different nor does it stuff my pockets with money. At the end of the day, I am the same person. I will go to work tomorrow just like the next guy. I will still be the poor Viennian that I am. The only way to truly change yourself is to do it yourself, not to have it handed to you.
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Emma Schulte
2/27/2017 05:08:52 pm
Unless I inherited a large sum of money or land, I doubt my life would change that much. It would make my life easier and open up more opportunities for me, however, me as a person would not change. Honestly, it'd just make for a good conversation starter or a fun fact. If nothing else, I'd probably end up forgetting about it.
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Gina Wieberg
2/27/2017 06:08:22 pm
If I discovered that I was a descendant of a famous person, I don't think my life would change. If someone had to tell me that I was their descendant or related to them, then I don't think it would be close enough for me to inherit anything or get any advantages from them. In order for it to change me I would have to know them on a personal level. I would like to say that being a descendant of a famous person would change me for the better, but I think if I was changed, it would change me for the worse. I'm afraid it would make me conceited, or I would only use the information as a way to make myself look better.
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marie
2/27/2017 06:15:07 pm
Other than being a little more prideful of my newfound heritage I don't think my life would change all that much. I know this because my family, though distantly,is related to William Clark (Lewis and Clark). I feel that to change as significant as John Durbeyfield did in the first chapter of Tess of the D'urbervilles I would have to inherit a fairly large sum of money, land, and probably even a title of my own before I would change. I would hope that the change would be for the better but I would not be able to say that for certain unless I would actually inherit something to that extent.
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Brooke Feeler
2/27/2017 08:22:11 pm
If I was suddenly informed that I was related to a famous person to some extent, I don't believe my life would change a whole lot. Even if it affected my life in some way, I wouldn't be willing to just give up on the life I had before knowing I was a descendant of a famous person. The only way I believe it would change my life is that I would know that I was related to a famous person in some way. I don't believe my life would change because even if I enheritted money from them I would not buy all the fancy things in life! I would save the money and put it in the bank, pay bills, and pay off all money that I owe! I would keep on living my normal life and work everyday! I think that there would have to be something very big occur before it would have an effect on me. I would like to think that I would change for the better but it is hard telling! Some people let money and power go straight to their head and don't act like normal people. They don't associate theirselves with people of a lower ranking. I see this as very crazy and unfair, I think all people should be treated fairly and not be judged on how much money they have or who they are related too.
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Derek Kleffner
2/27/2017 08:23:22 pm
I feel that my life would change in some way if I was told that I was a descendant from a famous person. I do not think I would change in general as the person I am, just the things around me and my everyday life would change. I feel that people would look at me differently because people view famous people on a higher scale than a ordinary person. If any kind of inheritance was involved then yes my life would change. It would have to be very significant to change me because I am not just going to change into a totally new person due to me being a descendant of someone famous. I think that I would change for the better because I will still be the same person just with a more complex life style.
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Mason Smith
2/27/2017 08:35:46 pm
I think if i learned that I was from a line of royalty I could stay humble for the most part. There would be times without a doubt that I would let my genealogy go to my head and act snooty towards people. I have always tried to stay true to who I am no matter the who my descendants are. At the end of the day it wouldn't change how I act in my day to day life tho it would be very nice to think a tiny part of me was royalty hundreds of years ago. It would only slightly change me for the worse on my days i felt cocky other than that I feel i would use this knowledge to grow as a person.
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Ryleigh James
2/28/2017 08:05:48 am
If I happened to find out that I was somehow related to a famous person I do not really think that I would change. My dad likes to joke with us about being related to the famous bandits Jesse and Frank James, daily, so if at some point in my life I discover that I actually am related to them then I believe that I would still act relatively the same. It would take a lot for me to change how I act on a daily basis. I honestly hope that if I was related to someone famous it would not change me or change me for the better so that i would still keep all of my friends. Finding out about descending from a long line of famous ancestors would be awesome, but I do not think that it will happen anytime soon.
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AuthorMrs. Starkey is an English I, III, and IV teacher at Salem High School with 17 years teaching experience. Archives
January 2018
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