Originally Posted by Galt

When I joined TFP I named myself after the character of John Galt from Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged.

I was introduced to Ayn Rand's work by an English professor during the first semester of my first year of college. We had to write an essay on who we admired and why. In my essay, I explained that I admired those who became wealthy through their own hard work and that I resented those who tried to demonize and punish the successful. When the professor returned the graded papers, she had written a note on it that said something like, "Have you read any Ayn Rand?" (not an exact quote, but it's pretty close). At the time, I had never even heard of Ayn Rand, so I approached the professor after class and asked who Ayn Rand was and why I should read this person's books. She told me that my views on this issue seemed to be similar to Rand's, and that I might enjoy her work. I went to a book store and bought some of Ayn Rand's books (I actually started with her philosophy books rather than her novels) and I found that I agreed with her on most issues. So...here I am.