In the story " The Allegory of the Den "  my interpretation of it may or may not be the same as yours, but does in some way have the same meaning. My interpretation of it is that as children were are in the darkest , meaning that when we are first born we really do not know alot about the world . Though as we get older that is how we come toward the light,  in a way that as we grow,  we acquire the necessary knowledge to survive in the world. We may not however know everything there is to know but enough to at least lead us to survival.
    When  we are first born we are little, small, fragile, and need alot of care. Children at that age want and need knowledge but their lack of it makes them vulnerable and lost in the dark. So I think in the beginning of the story Plato is trying to say that if a child is just born into this world the child is born into the darkness. Meaning that the child has no knowledge at all when it is first born. That everyone born into this world has been into the darkness and are now slowly starting to move into the " dim " light.
      I also think that what Plato was trying to say on the subject of seeing shadows and being chained was that a child being raised by their guardians or parents only obtains what their parents taught them and not by what they learn. Being that they are chained " unable to move and learn freely " and that the shadows " the people who are raising them " are what they only see. Those knowledge that they obtained as they grow are with them the rest of their life, but as they grow they also obtain an insight on other views.
    The second step toward the light that I think that Plato is trying to say is that our development toward adolesence in which we have and will obtain more knowlege by going to school and meeting new people. With that further step into " growing up " we also face problems that come with it as we grow. With each problem we face, no matter how small or how big, we have the ability to solve it. When we face up to the problem or situation that has come forth into our lives, no matter if we succeed or not, we are still a step further into the light.
    In conclusion, my interpretation of Plato's " The Allegory of the Den "  is that the only way for us to go further into the light is to face up to the challenges that lay ahead in our lives when we are first born. Meaning that when we are first born we are in the "darkness " where our parents or guardians take care of us, but then as we grow, we learn to take care of ourselves and try to go into the light by what we learn and try not to stay in the darkness. We do that by using the knowlege that we have obtained over the years.

3. Explain how this allegory  has changed your way of thinking?(from your reading log?)
" The Allegory of the Den " changed my thinking for the positive. It has made me think things through in life, that the things  I have to face , that I know is hard , I am able to face it if I know the consequences involved. That anything and everything in life is an obstacle that we all have to face and become victorious in the end.

4. If there was one thing you have learned from the "Cave" and would like to apply it to
your life, what would it be and why?
The one thing that I think that I would like to apply to my life that I learned from the " Cave " is to face up to the problems that I will or have to eventually face in life. The reason that I would like to apply it is that with the philosophy of Plato it has made me realize that if we just hide, run or be scared we would eventually always be like that in life. So it has taught me, to always try my best and use the knowledge that I have obtained to face up to the problems or situations that I will eventually face in the future. With the knowledge that I have already obtained throughout the years and the years that are coming.