Challenge 2: Character of a Literary Work

80. Describe how the character of a literary work you have read recently has made a lasting impression on you. (College of Notre Dame of Maryland)

I felt like I was too old to read the book for the first time, but I understood that if I didn’t read it now, with the perspective of an adolescent, it would not mean the same to me ten years from now. So then, I grabbed the book from my father’s collection of fiction from his college days, and made myself comfortable on my bed. I had the heart to finish it in one go because I had heard that it was a really engaging novel. Alice in Wonderland: the novel about which my friend used to talk endlessly. So I started reading, walking through Alice’s adventures in Wonderland, discovering the characters she met, and enjoying every bit of the classic fiction. After I finished the book, I was satisfied. However, a certain quote stood out from the whole story and really made me think. My friend had talked about it earlier, but I never really gave much thought to it. It was something that the Cheshire cat told Alice when she asked him which way to go: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to” (Lewis Carroll). When Alice tells him she does not “much care where,” he says, “Then it doesn't matter which way you go” (Lewis Carroll). The cat’s explanation really opened my eyes. It struck me that whatever lies ahead of me is not absolute or for me to figure out. From where I am, I can see a sea of endless opportunities and experiences, new friends to be made, new places to be visited, and new memories to be created. There is no way I can know what is coming for me, but when it does, I will be on my toes, ready for it to come punch me in the face and let me discover the beauty of living.