The book I chose is "Lost in
Place". To be perfectly honest, I chose this book because it looked like a
decent size for the story line that was presented. The story's main character
is presented right away as a teenage boy, looking to find the path to become
the man he’s supposed to be. Knowing that, it was an easy decision for me
because I thought it would be an easy character to relate to.
Although I have never personally
had any kind of martial arts training, nor do I know how to fight in any way,
shape or form, I found myself being able to understand the kind of passion he
felt for his creative outlet. He had found something he clicked with and could
feel dedicated to, which immediately made me think of my drive to become the
best photographer I can possibly become. The sense I got from reading the back
of the book and hearing it explained in class was reminiscent of anyone who may
be trying to find their creative outlet in life. Making a dream into a reality
is something not many people have the courage to truly follow through with.
Being said, I thought I could find some kind of motivation in the complete
dedication that Mark seems to have for his craft and translate that to
motivation for my own.
Immediately,
the book introduces Mark as a passionate teenager who knows his purpose and
commits himself to it. Reading it, I could completely delve into his emotions
and feel the same way as Mark, only for my own self. Mark tells about his
parents not being overly enthusiastic about his decision to study the art of
Kung Fu and become a martial artist, which I could completely relate and
understand. Having grown up half my life with biological father, I was never
supported in anything I ever showed any true interest in. Although my mother
has always wanted me to live my life to the fullest and most fulfilling
extent(but she would never admit to this), I know she would have rather wanted
me to choose to study business or become a doctor instead of being a starving
art student.
Along
with his passion for martial arts, Mark explains that he is Buddhist. After being able to relate to his character in
so many ways already, this was just icing on the cake. A year ago, I realized I had always been
involved in the Christian faith because I thought that was what I was supposed
to believe in and I was afraid to step out of the box that I had stayed for the
past 18 years of my life. When I was really six for a while last year, I got
really into watching movies online and started watching movies I had loved when
I was a little kid. I came across one that I have always loved, called “The
Little Princess” and in the story, the main character tells a story originated
from India called “The Ramayana”. I immediately remembered the story and
actually ordered it from amazon and read it. Reading it, I realized that this
was a fascination not only with this fairy tale story, but the culture. I
started researching and chose to study Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism in more
depth. Choosing was a difficult choice, but Buddhism was the one thing in my
life at the time that seemed to make sense to me.
Reading
this book will probably be hard to relate to at times and simple at others, but
being able to understand the culture which Mark has chosen to delve into makes
my understanding of his character a lot easier. At first it seems like Mark is
a teenage boy with anger problems, but really he is a teenager who is trying to
find something in this world that makes sense to him. It’s hard to find your
passion, and some people go their whole lives without ever being able to really
pinpoint what theirs is. But I think that’s why we’re all here in the first place;
we’re some of the lucky people. We’re the people who have found our passions,
who know our passions and want to live, breathe and study them to become the
best that we can be. And that’s what I see in Mark’s character.
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