by Henry CruzThe best lessons I learned in life are how to accept my fate and how to appreciate my loved ones. English literature has always been my best subject, but only when it came to writing. I started to love reading after I read books that were relatable and written with words that expressed the emotions I endured every day. Those books were Hamlet, Great Expectations, and Bodega Dreams. These books shined a light on my darkest days and contributed some of the best lessons I learned in my life. Great Expectations In high school, I was taking an AP Literature class and the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens was given to me to start reading over the summer before the class started. At first, I was not accepting the assignment because I wanted to enjoy my summer without any school work. However, as the days grew closer to school I knew I had to begin reading it. After reading it, I was in shock from the overall message and ending of the story. A boy named Pip grew up with the guidance of his brother in law Mr.Joe. At the end, I learned to never forget where I come from no matter how much I grow or change in life. I believe the important message of the story is to appreciate your loved ones because any trip with them is worth more than the destination. Hamlet I always believed that a person is responsible for his/her own fate despite their beliefs in something. To me, beliefs are a person’s creation to give them answers that they are too afraid to give themselves. William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet shaped the way the way I think about life and death. His famous lines “To be or not to be, that is the question” goes beyond a romantic ideology of his work. This line expresses that no one can escape suffering whether they are dead or alive. When a person is alive, they walk through life with their troubles and sorrows, perhaps wishing they were dead. Death is described as an end where all the suffering and pain is gone no matter what choices were made when being alive. Death has physical or emotional feeling. However, Hamlet explains that when a person is dead, they are asleep, and when they are asleep they dream, and when they dream, they have nightmares about their problems. Death is defined as an end to life, but also represents the beginning of an afterlife. The choices we make when we are alive determine how our afterlife will be. Even if we avoid the consequences when we are alive, those consequences follow us through our morals and guilt. We eventually learn through consequences of what we should have done and what we should not have done. We are responsible for our own fate and the way we structure it. We compose the velocity of our lives. For instance, some people choose to live slowly, day by day while others live life rapidly making each day count as if it is his/her last. There are times we think about short term effects rather than long term. We cannot blame others for the consequences within our path because we are our own pilots who manage the direction where we want life to take us. Bodega Dreams
I grew up in a tough and poor neighborhood. Although I did not know everyone in my neighborhood personally, I would still greet and speak to them because I saw them as human beings before anything else. This book brings me flashbacks of the crazy things I would do to prove myself to people and how far I would be willing to go. As a man, I would be willing to do anything that would help my family in any way. Bodega Dreams taught me no matter how far I go out of my way to achieve something, appreciate those who are worried for you. For example, I learned to appreciate my beautiful girlfriend even more than when I first met her. Not only is she my lover, she is my best friend and that is what gives me the most comfort every day. I was blessed to having an amazing person like her to give me unconditional love every day. In Bodega Dreams, the main character Chino grows up with his girlfriend Blanca (Nancy) and deals with the emotional burden of wanting better for her. His financial situation becomes more challenging as he learns that she is pregnant. He becomes concerned with finding a good paying job and an apartment with more room but in a better neighborhood. However, she notices that he is troubled and worries for him. Despite her feelings, Chino secretly isolates himself to achieve his goal of obtaining a better apartment for them to live in. This situation is very relatable because I would also be willing to do anything to accomplish my goal as the main character Chino did for his. Although I have people who worry for me, I now know how important it is to stay strong for them and appreciate every second I spend with them. When your body is tired, exercise your mind. Reading these three books contributed to how I deal with my emotions and rationally think. Life tends to put people through physical and mental obstacles that shape how we carry ourselves through our lifetime. The overall message I took from all three of these books is to appreciate the trip more than the destination. No matter where life takes me, I am responsible for what direction I am headed for.
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