In the story The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, a young boy named Santiago embarks on a journey in the hopes of following his Personal Legend, a treasure trove of gold. He abandons the comforts of his life as a shepherd and immediately boards a ship bound for Africa. When he arrives, Santiago endures countless obstacles on his way to finding his treasure but perseveres until finally doing so. The quote, “...life really is generous to those who pursue their Personal Legend…” (170) is true, as evidenced by numerous instances in the book, and in real life. As Santiago attempts to follow his Personal Legend, he is first faced with bad luck, being robbed by a young man just hours after arriving in Africa. However, he continues on, helping a candy seller and, soon, working at a crystal shop. …show more content…
Nevertheless, these hardships help him understand the world more and connect with others on a level beyond the superficial. He gains new insights, skills, and even travels bits of the world. He falls in love and realizes the beauty of each and every thing that exists. In this sense, life is generous to those who pursue their Personal Legend: throughout your journey, you will struggle and question why you do everything, but if you persevere, you will emerge stronger, wiser, and all the better person for it. Despite not having fulfilled my own Personal Legend, I believe that life has been generous to me. I began as an extremely rude child whom no one wanted to be around, and have grown to be nicer and have many close friends. I feel as though my Personal Legend has allowed me to mature as a person while retaining my childish antics and ensuring that I get good grades. Furthermore, I believe that I can only grow more as I follow my Personal Legend to the best of my ability, though I have no idea where it may take me, and know that I will emerge only as the best person I can