Freedom

"Unity" by Sonia Jimenez

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb"~ Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was a man that not only had to go threw a lot of difficulties but he also never gave up. He wanted the right to vote, to have freedom, fundamental rights, and wanted to accomplish many more things. The same problem that was going on in America at that time was also going on in South Africa. 'Racism' This was a big problem at that time and Black people had no rights so Nelson Mandela wanted to change this. People didn't accept and after many tries Mandela got sent to jail for five years. Again he tried ' he never gave up' and then got sent to jail again. After twenty seven years of jail he finally got let out on is 75th birthday. After many years he had finally got what he had worked for all those years and he got surprised. Mandela had gotten elected as the first black president. To me this quote means when you have solved one problem don't be expecting you are done because you're not there are many more on it's way.

Love

Love Birds- Elaine Lanoue

Love thumping loud in your heart

Wearing nothing but a thin breakable cloth

Blowing softly through the wind.

In the book The Alchemist, Santiago shows his passion for love. When he finds the love of his life he wants to stay with her forever and never leave. "From that day on, the desert would represent only one thing to her: the hope for his return. "Don't think about what you've left behind,"the alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert."(Coelho Pg 118) He is forced to leave and when he leaves to find his destiny he is so eager to turn around and go back to Fatima but the he doesn't listen to his heart and the alchemist helps to not be as eager to go back to Fatima. Fatima and Santiago share they language of love in different ways. They say I love you and they mean it, they smell each others scent before the meet and fall in love, and they send kisses through the wind. They use everything to show there love to each other.

Do What You Need to Do

Envisage by Thaneeya

At this point in my life I don’t know what my destiny is. I believe that to be able to find my destiny I will have to believe in myself and not let other people determine my life. For example when you are a child you might want to help people in Africa but other people tell you to get this out of your mind because you won’t earn any money but in the end it is not important because if you don’t follow that dream and you become a lawyer or surgeon you might not feel happy because that is not what you wanted. When you find out what makes you happy it is important to fulfill what you are striving for. For now I don’t think I have to know my destiny, because the world is open, I have time, and there are so many new things to discover. If you think now you know your destiny, you might miss your real chance of finding your destiny.

Not the Treasure, but the Journey

“I’m surprised,” the boy said. “My friend bought all the other sheep immediately. He said that he had always dreamed of being a shepherd, and that was a good omen.” (Coelho pg.27)
Through out his journey, Santiago learns a lot about omens. He experiences a lot of good and bad omens, which influences his journey. Santiago who is first a shepherd boy goes in search of a treasure that he dreamt about many times. He begins his journey in Andalusia (Spain) and moves toward the Egyptian Pyramids. During his journey he meets lots of people, overcomes obstacles and finds love. Santiago successfully achieves his destiny by being courageous, by using his adaptability, and by using his spiritual views.

During his journey, Santiago gains courage. Santiago was brave to go looking for a treasure that might not even exist and leave his past behind. The boy doesn’t know what is coming but he uses his intuition to move on toward his destiny. On his way he meets the alchemist. “Who dares to read the meaning of the flight of two hawks?” he demanded, so loudly that his word seemed to echo through the fifty thousand palm trees of Al-Fayoum. “It is I who dared to do so,” said the boy. (Pg. 104-105) Although Santiago knows he is in danger he still has the courage to stand up for himself. Eventually, he wasn’t in danger, but the alchemist wanted to test his courage. Later while on his way to the Pyramids the alchemist and the boy get stopped by one of the tribes. The alchemist spoke to the head of the tribe and told him, that Santiago, who he told them was the alchemist, would turn himself into the wind. If he couldn’t do this he would ne killed. When the day arrived he still hadn’t accomplished it, but he tried. And, eventually he turns himself into the wind by knowing how to summon the strength within himself. While Santiago is very courageous on his journey, he also adapts well to new situations.

On his journey, Santiago adapts to change quickly. He abandons his life in grassy Spain with beautiful flowers and grass fields behind, to go to Egypt where there is a humid desert with nearly no plants. He adapts to different environments very fast and respects it. “He was so ashamed that he wanted to cry. He had never even wept in front of his own sheep.” (Pg. 37) Later in the café a man pretends to help Santiago and then runs of with all the money he had. Santiago had nothing left and couldn’t do anything. But quick enough he started to help some people and earned money. He also worked at the Crystal Merchant for a long time and earned a lot of money there. He helped the Crystal Merchant sell more and so Santiago also earned more money. After he meets the alchemist he goes on to look for his treasure. Towards the end of his journey the alchemist leaves him to go look for his treasure on his own. Santiago has to get used to not having help from the alchemist but soon get used to it. And, eventually, he knew what to do by himself. Santiago successfully adapts to change, and he is also a very spiritual person.

While on his journey, Santiago learns more about spirituality. Santiago has been dreaming of a treasure in Egypt continuously. The last time he has this dream is before he starts moving on asking a gypsy woman about the treasure in Egypt. He was in a church in Andalusia. The church was eventually where the treasure was. “Suddenly, one of the hawk’s made a flashing dive through the sky, attacking the other. As it did so, a sudden fleeting image came to the boy: an army, with its swords at the ready, riding into the oasis. The vision vanished immediately, but it had shaken him. He had heard people speak of mirages and had already seen some himself: they were desires that, because of their intensity, materialized over the sands of the desert. But he certainly didn’t desire that an army invade the oasis.” (Pg. 95-96) When the boy sees the two hawks he can immediately connect it to something bad in the future. Santiago sees the hawks when he is meditating in the desert and following them. When suddenly the one hawk attacks the other he gets this visions. He only gets visions when he wants them to happen. He didn’t understand because he didn’t desire this. Also people say an oasis never gets attacked. Santiago talks to the wind, sun and god. He can do this by knowing the Soul of the World and the Language of the Universe. These two things are connected, he is able to communicate with gods words. The Language of the universe is a passage to be able to talk to god. He communicates with his heart to find his treasure and help get threw the difficult times in his journey.

At the end Santiago fully accomplishes courage, adaptability, and spirituality. When Santiago has found his treasure he decides to keep his promises and give one third of his treasure to the gypsy woman. After he has done this he goes back to Al- Fayoum and will hopefully live the rest his life with Fatima. The love of his life. The moment he steps into the desert there is a soft blowing wind with the scent of his love. When he gets closer to his destiny he meets the scent, Fatima. The treasure was at the church. The book starts with him at an abandoned church and Santiago dreaming about his treasure. All the time the treasure was at the church. As he learned, it was not the treasure that mattered it was the journey.