"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

Hi, everyone! I finished The Alchemist last night, and guys, this book is one of the best I've ever read. The message really touched me and helped me understand ideas I had never even thought about. It's beautifully written and a lot of lines throughout the book struck me deeply. I thought I'd share some here. 

-"'Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we're living right now.'"

-"'Because I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present.'"

-"'And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.'"

-"...he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke- the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love."

-"'Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity.'"

-"From then on, the boy understood his heart. He asked it, please, never to stop speaking to him."

-"Whenever he saw the sea, or a fire, he fell silent, impressed by their elemental force."

-"'Now I'm beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I'm happy at least that I didn't wait twenty years.'"

-"Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are."

-"If he can understand my story, then he's never too far from me. It is always within my power to build a bridge."

-"'Love is the force that transforms and improves..."

-"...the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn."

-"'No reason is needed for loving.'"

-"'But above all, I'm a woman.'"

-"The boy and his heart had become friends, and neither was capable now of betraying the other." 

"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

   I finished Frankenstein a few days ago and it quickly became one of my favorites. In addition to the incredible plot, the thing that struck me the most about this book was Shelley's writing style. There were a lot of lines throughout the book that really inspired or resonated with me, and I thought that I'd share here <3 (no spoilers) 

-"My temper was sometimes violent, and my passions vehement; but by some law in my temperature they were turned not towards childish pursuits but to an eager desire to learn, and not to learn all things indiscriminately." (Victor Frankenstein)

-"I was required to exchange chimeras of boundless grandeur for realities of little worth." (Frankenstein)

-"I pursued nature to her hiding-places." (Frankenstein) 

-"...I suddenly left my home, and bending my steps towards the near Alpine valleys, sought in the magnificence, the eternity of such scenes, to forget myself and my ephemeral, because human, sorrows." (Frankenstein)

-"Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it." (The Creature)

-"If any being felt emotions of benevolence towards me, I should return them a hundred and a hundredfold." (The Creature) 

-"...and yet a man is blind to a thousand minute circumstances which call forth a woman's sedulous attention." (Frankenstein) 

-"He pointed out to me the shifting colours of the landscape and the appearance of the sky. 'This is what it is to live,' he cried." (Henry Clerval) 

-"...his (Clerval's) friendship friendship was one of that devoted and wondrous nature that the world-minded teach us to look for only in the imagination." (Frankenstein)

-"I... wished to view again mountains and streams and all the wondrous works with which Nature adorns her chosen dwelling-places." (Frankenstein)

-"Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful." (The Creature)

-"...and like the archangel who aspired to omnipotence, I am chained in an external hell." (Frankenstein) 

-"...the companions of our childhood always possess a certain power over our minds which hardly any later friend can obtain. They know our infantine dispositions, which, however they may be afterwards modified, are never eradicated." (Frankenstein)

-"Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes amd firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts may be." (Frankenstein) 

-"It requires more philosophy than I posses to bear this injustice with patience." (R. Walton)

-"But it is even so; the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil." (The Creature) 

Everything is a win when the goal is to experience

 

   Unfortunately, I've had the worst summer of my life. I applied to my dream summer job just as school was ending this past spring and was elated to find out that I was accepted. I thought it would be a perfect way to keep busy, make money, and connect with new people while I was off of school. Much to my surprise, things did not go as planned. I faced bullying and sexual harassment from a group of girls that were my coworkers. They made the job absolutely miserable for me, and I started questioning my worth like I never have before. 

   Fortunately, they ended up being let go before the summer was over for illegal activity. However, they have continued, even months later, to post cryptic Instagram notes, as 19 year old girls do, insulting me to no end. 

   As I faced their harsh words daily I found it difficult to hold onto happiness. Genuinely, what kept a smile on my face (and kept me from quitting my job) was the quote, "Everything is a win when the goal is to experience." I set it as my laptop background and recited it in my head when things got tough. It reminded me to take a minute to appreciate the incredible circumstances that led to me being alive and put some much needed perspective on how privileged I am to being experiencing anything at all. Things seemed more bearable when I shifted my mindset to this and I realized that this was just another small experience in the grand scheme of my life. And, of course, the whole situation would give me an interesting story full of illegal actions and perseverance (bright side ;p)!!

   I just wanted to share this in the hopes that it might help someone the way that it helped more, or, can at least, help give you a more positive outlook. 

   Thanks so much for reading, stay positive!