What Everyone Needs

1.
Follow Your Dreams

“Well, then I’ll be a shepherd!” (Coelho 9). Santiago is so determined to fulfill his dream that he is willing to be anything even a shepherd. His father tells him that the only ones who travel are the shepherds, so Santiago who has studied Latin, Spanish and Theology decides to become a shepherd rather than a priest. He is a boy from Andalusia who wanted to know the world. When it comes to making a choice in his life, Melchizedek, the king of Salem, comes and explains to him why it is hard for people to pursue their destiny and to understand the omens. Santiago chooses to pursue his destiny because he is brave and wants to travel a lot. His whole life turned from being a caring shepherd to someone in an adventure trying to achieve his destiny. During his journey there were ups and downs, he gave up his sheep, he left his whole family and Andalusia behind to follow his destiny. Santiago possessed qualities such as Determination, bravery and curiosity, which helped him through this journey.

All things are possible with determination and we can clearly see that with this trait under his belt, Santiago was able to fulfill his destiny. Since childhood he always wanted to be someone who could travel and know the world. In spite of the fact that his whole family wanted him to be a priest he was determined to travel the world. The journey was not smooth, at points he felt like everything was going against him. He fell into a trap and lost his valuables to so called friends. That was very a tough time to stick to your destiny, but Santiago didn’t give up on his destiny. He withheld all temptations and did whatever it took to stay on track to reach his goal. Determination is the strength of will that gets you through tough times and helps you achieve your goals. Without determination Santiago would have given up a long time ago.

Bravery allows you to cross boundaries one couldn’t imagine crossing. Santiago is very brave for the things he did to achieve his destiny. Page 12 “But he decided to take a chance. A shepherd always takes his chances with wolves and drought.” This indicates bravery because he decides to become a shepherd even though he knows that there will be wolves and drought. Another example is that he takes a chance and steps ahead ready for anything when he faces the gypsy. It was also brave of him to speak up when he met the alchemist in a mystifying sandstorm. He confronts obstacles in his path with bravery. As Omar Bradley said “Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death”. It’s the braves who will overcome obstacles in their journey and carry on.

Curiosity is an emotion related to natural inquisitive behavior such as exploration, learning and investigation. “But ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world and this was much more important to him than knowing God and learning about man’s sins.” (Page 8). It’s the curiosity in Santiago to know the world, which leads to this adventure. Here is another piece of evidence, which shows this trait. “Does a man’s heart always help him?” (Page 129). It’s the curiosity in him, which makes him ask numerous questions to the alchemist. As king questions doesn’t only increase you knowledge, it also develops your character and reconfirms the facts for you. Curiosity is the motivator to seek knowledge, and knowledge helps in achieving your goals.

All in all, determination, bravery and curiosity play an important role in his adventure. Because of these traits Santiago went on this adventure, faced the hardships and kept on going till he reached his final destination. He learned the language of the world because he was curios. It was determination, which helped him meet his destiny. It was bravery, which got him through the journey. At the end of his quest Santiago has found love, found himself, and found treasure. Every time he met someone he gained knowledge and insight. Santiago’s story indicates that we should listen to our heart and believe and follow our dreams.




Determination By: Pete Collom


Determination by Julie Rogers

What everyone needs

One important character trait that I possess is determination, which I think will help me reach my destiny. I am determined because once I set my eyes on something; I will achieve that goal one way or the other. Determination will help me throughout my life because when everything goes wrong and doesn't work out as planned, I will still keep on going till I reach my goal. Determination helps individuals to find their true self and teaches you that not everything is easy. It’s the determination in a person, which makes them overcome the obstacles.