The Bigger Picture

We were discussing profile writing in class today, after spending a week poring over the lives of Valerie Jarett, Sen. John Kerry, Jon Favreau and a dentist who disputes President Obama's legitimacy to hold office. Our professors asked us to critique the readings when the words came out of my mouth before I had fully processed them. "The people were bigger than the details of their lives."

And by this I meant, where they were born, who their parents were, where they went to school - yes it plays a part in the grander scheme of their lives. But it doesn't define them. What people do, makes them who they are.

People are bigger than the details of the lives.