def as_list(x):
    """A function to convert an item to a list if it is not, or pass it through otherwise
    
    Parameters
    ----------
    x : any object
        anything that can be entered into a list that you want to be converted into a list
    
    Returns
    -------
    list
        a list containing x
    """
    
    
    if not isinstance(x, list):
        return [x]
    else:
        return x