I grew up in a small town surrounded by a group of people who were loving yet small-minded. I remember observing them when I was a little girl, watching how they interacted with one another, how they made decisions about their lives, and the reasons behind their habits and beliefs. I was really little the first time I asked why we believed a certain way, and I continued to ask this same question for many years. The answer was always the same: “That’s just the way it is.” This was my first inkling of why people begin to die: they never have the chance to fully live by asking questions that create originality.