Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination. These are the basic ideals and mottos of the Knights Radiant, a group of mythical and powerful soldiers in Brandon Sanderson’s fictitious novel, The Way of Kings. The remarkable thing about these Radiants is that they are not the stereotypical heroes on white stallions; instead, they are “emotionally broken people. [They are] people who had been broken, but then instead of lying down and giving up, they stood straight, [and] shouldered the weights” (stormlightarchive. wikia.com). They are just ordinary people who were willing to leave everything behind—families, careers, lives—to fight for the greater good and sacrifice what the majority are not willing to lose. And although these Knights are fictional, they still serve as a central example of how the characters and lessons in literature I have read during my time in high school have influenced my life for the better. The three principles above only scratch the surface of how I have grown. This being said, they exemplify and involve many other topics I have learned about. …show more content…
Friendship is truly special in that one surrounds themself with those who help them with their shortcomings and flaws. To demonstrate, I am a very insecure person. As a result, I have surrounded myself with caring friends and family who help me overcome my trials. At the same time, I help those same people with their personal demons. Everyone benefits. In “This is Water,” Wallace says, “The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little…ways, every day” (7-8). Therefore, sometimes the most straightforward way for one to care or use one’s own personal strength is to simply observe and be aware of what people are going