Scribbler of Dreams

When I was in eighth grade, I asked my camp friend for book recommendations. She lauded Scribbler of Dreams as her favorite book. She seemed like an intelligent person, and she shared many of my interests, so I trusted her judgment. Though my beloved public library seemed to contain everything necessary, (It had Bollywood movies; need I say more?), it lacked this book. I perused the card catalog for years, hoping that the book would manifest itself there, but my hopes were in vain.

Fast forward to 2010.

I returned to my beloved library. By this time, I realized that our library did not, in fact, possess every necessary product. I entered the teen section, though I had vowed not to read predominantly from its selection. I only planned to search for my favorite series and books that I'd promised myself I'd read when I was younger. I was thrilled to find Scribbler of Dreams, comfortably resting on the shelves as though it had been there for years, though I knew that it hadn't been.

I planned to read the book in a modicum of time. Upon starting it, I realized that I had matured and read far too much greater literature to be as impressed with the book as I would have been in eighth grade. Time and experience modified my standards, but I still wanted to finish the book. I'm very happy that I did. While the storyline was mildly predictable, (and lacked a unique narrator), it still had scattered beautiful paragraphs in the form of journal entries and an interesting aliment for thought: Legacies do not bind us: we bind ourselves.

The main character believed that she was destined to follow family traditions, not realizing that she was a unique being who could make decisions on her own. Whether she followed traditions or not mattered solely on her choices and abilities, as opposed to what kept going on. In goal-oriented societies, people strive for assimilation, success, and fulfillment. The strife may be painful and rigid because these three nouns often fit a certain definition, a prototype that learned beliefs and norms cultivate. It is my firm belief that we must constantly evaluate our definitions and properly analyze whether or not they fit in with our ideals. For they do not cause us pain and rigidity.

We do that to ourselves.