The book is about a young man who has very little but is happy and content. He is a Shepherd and spends all of his time with his sheep. He is bothered by a dream he has and decides to have the dream interpreted. He is then told that there is a treasure that awaits him in the pyramids of Egypt and with a little help he decides to go there to find his treasure. Throughout the book he meets different people and gets side tracked from his dream for a short period of time. He experienced fortune as well as misfortune but never stopped learning every step of the way. He has opportunities to speak with very wise men and allows them to influence his life. In the end he decides to follow his Person Legend and he discovers his treasure.

 The book taught me varies things and I learned a lot. This is the type of book that each individual who reads it may interpret it a little different then another. Here are my personal thoughts and interpretations of what the book was saying, and included is also my opinion of what the book is insinuating.

 Another main thing I have learned is how powerful fear is. The book says “Fear of suffering is worse than fear itself” and that is true. We don’t fear fear, we fear anything negative. Some people in this world get comfortable in their life and become content with what they have. But you are never supposed to just be CONTENT! You are supposed to be happy and constantly setting and meeting goals and constantly changing. You are supposed to continue to grow every single day and move up in life to be the most successful, happiest person you can possibly be. Fear is what will prevent someone from being completely happy. We are all afraid of failing but the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people are those who do not let fear prevent them from trying. There is a quote I’ve heard many times throughout my life: Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. A quote from the book says “We are afraid of losing what we have whether it’s our life or our possessions and property, but this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.” We as people are so afraid of failing that we don’t want to give up what we consider to already be success. We fear change. People are sad to move to a different home, we are afraid to quit our job for another one, we are afraid to go back to school. We worry about all of the negative. What if it fails? What if the people at my new job don’t like me? What if this what if that… well what if it turns out to bring you more money and more happiness then you could imagine? What if it is a good decision and steers your life into a great direction. People who are afraid of change are bound to stay frozen. Yes, it is true, you will not fail if you stay in the same place. You will stay comfortable and you will remain the same as you are now, yes you will not move backwards- but you will also not move forward. Fearing change is willingly allowing yourself to stay frozen. If you don’t want to make changes to better your life then you are trapping yourself and keeping yourself frozen in your own life; trapped within your own insecurities that all originate from fear and worrying about the “what ifs”. Another quote from the book says “People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams because they feel they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them”. You are in the driver seat of your own life and you deserve every single thing you can obtain and everything you CAN achieve.

 The Alchemist taught me how important it is to continue to move forward. No matter how good anything in your life seems to be, you should always push yourself to achieve more. The universe is on your side in achieving what you want from this life and sometimes stuff looks hard or seems challenging, other times you try and try and try to remain positive and it seems everything is against you. The Alchemist says “The darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn” and, to me, that means it always gets worse before it gets better, it has to rain in order to see the rainbow. If there was no negative things in this life we would have no ability to appreciate the good. I think the main message in the book was to always follow your dreams, not only pursue your Personal Legend but allow yourself to discover it, and become the person you were meant to be. Never fear change, always aspire to achieve more. They say the grass always looks greener on the other side, and their right, it does and sometimes you go to the other side just to discover there are just as many weeds on that lawn then there was on yours but life is a learning experience. I think that life is about obtaining and absorbing every ounce of knowledge that you can, then once you have it you are to use it and then share it to those who have yet to learn it. Struggles are a part of life and they will always happen regardless of any situation, but its the joys and accomplishments that are experienced at the end of those struggles that push anyone to move forward. Everyone has heard of the saying Just Live your Life. I disagree. Don’t just live your life, don’t just coast through every day just “getting by” but instead- live every moment and milk every opportunity that you can! Experience every situation and never, EVER stop learning. Every person that you meet has a story to tell, why don’t you take a minute to listen to theirs, and then share yours?!  And if not that then at the very least- read The Alchemist and tell me what you thought of it. Why should you? Because Kristyn Says !

I thought I had everything figured out, I thought I was set. I thought I had a life partner, I had a very promising job and I made what I thought was okay money. I had fun with all of my friends, and I had amazing family. I spent too much money on way too many drinking nights; I planned way too many shopping trips and had way too much fun. But I was happy, I was living and I was free. I thought I was set, but what I didn’t see was that the relationship was doomed from the start, I didn’t have money in my savings account and at the end of the day I didn’t have a career, I had a job. Since then those “best friends” have had babies, moved out west and settled down. What I didn’t know was that my life, the life I was destined to live, was about to hit me in the face, it was just about to begin.  When I look back at how my life was, just a short year ago, I am living a completely different one now, I don’t even know who that person was. I’ve changed so much and opened the doors to a more promising, loving, and secure life.

I broke up with a man that was once everything to me. I learned that a broken heart still continues to beat no matter how damaged you deem yourself to be. I learned that after trying every possible solution, and waiting for something that will never change, I learned that giving everything you have until you are empty inside, I learned that being miserable with the justification of “everything will be okay one day”- is not how you’re supposed to do things. I’ve learned that you will never be happy if you settle for someone who doesn’t deserve you. And most importantly I’ve learned that all wounds mend in time, as long as you allow yourself the time to heal. I wouldn’t change anything for anything. In regards to my job, I loved it. I absolutely and unconditionally loved it. I loved being so useful and working in all departments of the restaurant. I loved how I knew that restaurant like the back of my hand, I loved the expectations and I loved the money and I loved the fun. But I was never meant to cook and deliver peoples food. Life had way more in store for me. I learned that although I loved that job with my entire heart and soul- sometimes you need to challenge yourself to see what you are capable of. Sure I miss it every day but I am doing something way better with my life now, I am serving people in a different way and improving people’s quality of life. I learned that no body in this world should have a job- they should have a career. And like my Grandpa has ALWAYS said: If you love your job; you’ll never have to work a day in your life.  Overall the hardest lesson I was forced to learn, was that sometimes taking a step backwards is not as terrible as it seems. I needed to figure myself out, and get back on my feet. Moving back in with the parents after being on your own is the worst feeling in the world. I was overwhelmed with feelings of failure, doubt, incompetence and it was a hard heavy shot at my self confidence and self worth. However, it was exactly what I needed. Instead of looking at the negative aspects about back tracking, I should have been thinking that I was given a second chance and an opportunity to start over again; and do it right. Most importantly I’ve learned that life is so unpredictable, you miss something every time you blink. Life can change in an instant and you are not supposed to try and prevent change, you’re supposed to embrace it. Cry to those love songs, laugh to those stupid jokes, and sing to that Adele song despite how terrible you sound. Fall in love with opportunity and never be afraid to let someone new into your life. Never talk about people behind their back, ignore jealousy and enjoy the ride of your life, because you only get one!

As I’ve said, my life is completely different from how it was a year ago. I quit my amazing job, left my boyfriend, moved home and went to school. I got over what I thought was going to be one of the hardest things to get over. But I found a man who is more amazing than I could have ever imagined. He was an amazing friend for years and now he is an amazing boyfriend. I wasn’t afraid to let him in, and though we’re moving fast, I’m letting my heart make the decisions. Some people would deem that as a mistake, others would say it’s romantic. Frankly, I don’t care either way. I’m happy and right now in this life, that’s all that matters. I’m watching those flowers on the hill side, and their blooming like crazy, I’m listening to the river flow down the stream and I’m watching children grow. To this current date I am a week away from completing school. I will be a PSW on my long road to starting a career in health care. This is what I’m meant to do. I’ve learned that PSW’s don’t just wipe butts, or feed the ones who can’t feed themselves. PSW’s don’t just change diapers and bath you. PSW’s work every day to improve YOUR grandparents’ quality of life. We, as PSWS, care more about peoples’ well being than anyone else in this field. We work with people every single day and focus on promoting their independence, well being and aim to ensure that during this last stage of life, they are as comfortable as possible, and as happy as they are able to be. I’ve learned more about respect then I have in my entire life. I’ve developed patience, love for a stranger, and appreciation for what I have in my life. I’ve learned that every single person has their own individual story and sometimes it’s sad, and sometimes it’s touching. I’ve witnessed dedication on a whole new level, seeing loved ones come in to visit their mom, dad, wife, or husband every single day and I’ve seen how families get torn apart by life’s flaws. I’ve seen who I was, I’ve witnessed who I am and I know who I want to be. And I am in the driver seat of my own life. I will turn when I feel I need to, I will go back when I’m lonely and I will continue to drive forward regardless of how scary that road may look. But most of all I never drive with a map, because I know roughly where I want to be, and I know I will get there eventually but I am comfortable with knowing that some stops are necessary, and life is a journey; not a destination. That’s how I live my life, that’s how I’ve learned to live my life, and you should too! No regrets; just hope and a little bit of faith. Kristyn says

Sometimes weather the relationship lasts 6 months or 3 years, it still hurts as if someone had died. They say your heart breaks but I’d say your stomach shrinks. I feel it in my throat, stomach and my mouth.  Break ups can feel like the end of the world and sometimes it takes an unusually long time to get over, or even to come to terms with the reality of what is no longer a constant in your life. Sometimes when its all over and done and there is no more that can be said… sometimes you feel that there is so much more to say. But he just won’t listen, and it just won’t make a difference. So you write. You write a letter or some kind of conclusion ending and when your finished you read it again and again. Then you either delete it and never think of it again, or you tuck it away some where safe to later look back on how you once felt. And you remember the happiness, the highlights of your love life. So heres mine…

You will forever hold special significance in my life but one day soon I will come to terms with the fact that its over. We had been through a lot and I suppose it seemed that I stopped trying because of my assumptions. The assumptions that promised us forever. But I guess not putting in an effort was the biggest mistake of our story as the ending left me without you.  It’s hard to watch the tv shows we used to watch and I hate seeing your face everytime I close my eyes.   I actually was able to see a future for us, I actually could picture myself walking down an asile towards your smiling face. I was able to imagine waking up to you beside me every day, but these visions are just distant, past thoughts now. All of our months spent together are now just memories in my head that constantly remind me of what could have been.  I can move on. That is no problem for me at all and being alone is not a conern for me. I don’t have any concerns other then wanting these feelings to get out. But who am I kidding? I am constantly updating a status that implies happiness, or constantly accepting date invitations to prove that I have moved on. When the truth is, you still own my heart. And moving past that in a matter of hours is what I like to call impossible.  How did we come so far to just end so abruptly? How did we get to the point of no return and how did I hurt you so bad to resent me like you do.  The promises that were once spoken to me now resound in my head like razors, and the love we shared is now stuck in the pit of my stomach living me with chills of lonliness.  I could go on and on about empty I feel and how my throat aches with words you will never hear. Nothing I do can make a difference and I understand this- but this ventilation tactict is not about you, its not about us and its not me trying to get you back. This is about me, and how I despretly need these feelings of regret to dissapear and I fear I won’t be able to do that without this procedure.  I hope at some point, though it might be in the distant future, that you will be able to accept me in your life again as a friend.  It is unfortunate that you are unable to realize my side of any of this. And it burns me to the pits of dispair to try and live with the fact that you cannot understand or have any willingness to understand a fraction of how I feel. All of this was about your feelings and about how you aren’t getting what you want. None of it was any kind of attempt in working together to what we want. My reactions to this are of nothing i have ever displaced before which should also express some unspoken feelings. But you seem to be too wrapped up in your own feelings to grasp that. Everytime words of resentment, bitterness or angry escape my trembling lips I am overwhelmed with regret. That is not how I deal with this but that seems to be the only way I know how these days.

I told you from the beginning I had nothing to offer you, I had nothing left inside of me and everything I had spent time on rebuilding or reinventing was shattered by your selfish words. And you still fail to see how this will effect me. How I will interact with anyone with a heart and a penis. How I will deal with any kind of pain at all. This was a breaking point that was aproaching way beyond your knowledge.  I do not have anything bad to say about you. You picked me up from the darkest of my days, you carried me to the end of the tunnel and showed me light. You treated me with the most respect and dignity that was even more then I deserved at times. You listen to me yell and you held me while I cried. You watched me while I laughed and you were there for every new joy in my life. You were more than a man to me and I don’t have anything bad to say about you- until now. Until the day you reached your breaking point. You acted out of anger and frustration, you proved that love is not enough and doesn’t mean anything when it comes to waiting. You angered me in so many ways but not once did i let it come to this. You accused me, and doubted me and I accepted your apology when we attempted to work through it, and we made it.   But when it comes to me angering  you, you erase me from your life. Despite the fact what I did that night, although completley uncalled for, it came from pain you had made me feel in the first place.    I forgave you for doubting me and acting out and a breaking point in US yet you erase me from your life when the tables have turned.   But this letter isn’t supposed to explain my actions or justify what I did. It is to express feelings and to start the foundation of the bridge that you clearly want me to make- to get over you.

So heres to you- the boy who rebuild me, and helped me realize who I was. The boy who was there for me and showed me how girls are supposed to be treated. The boy who showed me never fall for someone who isn’t willing to catch you. And never believe someone when they tell you they aren’t going anywhere… because despite who you are, despite how you feel and despite all factors… people always leave. Who would want to deal with that over and over again?

I understand you are supposed to go through numerous heart breaks before you find the one who you are meant to be with- but when do I draw the line? And how much can a person take before they just shut down? I suppose know one knows… So I hope the world is ready for the person I have become.