To reach your full potential in life, you have to be willing to let go or reshape your personal convictions on any subject. Personal convictions are opinions, morals, or priorities that one can have about anything. They are often used as a guide to life choices. We can examine the pattern of consequences in “The Boat” by Alistar Macleod to ascertain how these convictions affected several characters. Those that held on to their unwavering beliefs became stagnant, they destroyed personal relationships, while those that let go grew and had opportunities that those previously did not. Strong morals can often pressure someone to turn against what they truly want to do. In the short story, the son stuck by the side of his father, and was even willing to drop out of high …show more content…
The narrator’s sisters were of the belief that community was not what entirely mattered, they were willing to work at the restaurant even when their mother forbade it. Their own priorities were making money and finding new experiences. Eventually, they had all decided what was of the most priority to them, their love. When there is enough belief in something, love for the sisters, there is enough will to let go of all else. Leaving, they were able to take in the world, places from “ Boston, to Montreal, to New York”. Similarly, when the son left for his own life, his priorities had shifted. His new priority became himself and what he wanted for his own future, even if that meant leaving his mother. Referring to his mother, he says, “It's not easy to know that your mother looks at the sea with love and on you with bitterness”. Despite this conflict he does not go back, putting himself ahead of the other people in his life. By doing this, he was able to achieve an academic job once unimaginable. When you move on from what was once important, you can lead a new life and grow in ways not possible