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

My outlook on new years this year is to continue doing what I am doing. I’ve had my tough times, I’ve had struggles, I’ve over come obstacles in ways people are completely oblivious to. My new years resolution this year is to keep heading forward and to not look back. People are in my past for a reason and are there in result of decisions that I still stand by.  I’m on my way to becoming something fantastic and I don’t need a certain date to dedicate these promises to. I will continue to self evaluate and work on self improvement on a daily basis.

New years eve shouldn’t be about where you are, or where you didn’t make it to. It shouldn’t be about how much you drink or how painful your hang over is the next day. New years shouldn’t be about spending mass amounts of money and focusing on bringing in the new years “properly”. New years isn’t about where you are- but the people you are with.  Focus on the people you are with- they are there for a reason and there are others who aren’t there for another reason. Look around you, look at the people who you spend your time with and love them. Remember the people who you have lost, or who are not with us but continue looking forward into the new year that is coming with the people who are still in your life.

Here’s to the accomplishments of 2011, here’s to the people we once loved, and lost, here’s to the people who didn’t make it to see 2012 and to the new ones who are here to live it. Here’s to an ending of a chapter, and a beginning of a new one.

Welcome 2012 with all of your energy, open mind and an open heart! That’s what new years should be about! Why? Because Kristyn says!

Cheers.

I am so excited to start my career in health care and take care of people. The stuff I am learning is so interesting and I can see how I am going to be able to apply it to every day life and life in my career. I am so proud of myself and I would suggest this course to anyone who loves learning, and loves people. Everyone should join health care- why? Because Kristynsays.

“Life isn’t about having to prove yourself to others- its about not having to but still being loved.”

For the day of October 6th 2011

“Don’t try to save people- help them save themselves.”

For the day of September 23th 2011

“Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present toward the future. ”
Denis Waitley

Despite the fact that it seems a little niave and at times just plain stupid I have faith that people always have good intentions. I am blinded by the thought that people are always honest and would never intentionally hurt you. Or anyone. But in my years I have grown to see how unture that statement is. It sadens me that sometimes people can be completely heartless. Weather it is due to them being hurt in the past, weather its caused by how damaged that individual is, or if it is just because for them its fun. Sometimes you’ll never know why people do the things they do.

I try, as hard as possible, to live by the rules of “The secret”. Whatever you want you can receive so long as you stay positive and keep your eye on the prize. There are no coincidences in life- everything happens for a reason and it is understanding why certain events unfold the way they do that is the secret.

I have yet to understand- or come up with some kind of explination to understand why bad things take place. I suppose it is like that saying ” bad things need to happen in order to appreciate all of the good”.

I wear my heart on my sleeve as well as my feelings. I feel everything with such emphasis and clairty that most people just say its dramatic. When I am upset I allow my self to cry and be upset. When I am happy I jump up and down and let everyone around me know that I am happy. When I’m frustrated I take a second to try and find clairty in my confusion to become less frustrated.  Just like everyone else in the world I would always prefer to be happy I hate wasting my time being anything but positive.

I don’t know where I’ve come up with these ways of thinking, and I don’t know how I am able to understand so much of what goes on inside myself but I know that I will never stop. Never stop learning, trying, searching, laughing, blogging and writing. Because at the end of the day all you have is yourself and if you aren’t happy with what stares back at you in the mirror- then you really have nothing.