My Heroes
No, I don’t mean real life heroes. I mean fictional heroes from your favorite books. What made these characters memorable? What was it about them that made you love them?
For me, a good book is not only with a great storyline, but I have to feel attached to the characters. If I can’t understand the characters, I have a hard time getting into the book.
I’ve been a huge reader my whole life. I love to read. Some of the characters that stand out to me, probably started as early as my high school years. I took American Literature and World Literature in high school, and I got the opportunity to read some amazing novels that I still remember to this day.
My high school “heroes”:
Finny(Phineas) from “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles: I fell hard for Finny. He was the idealistic one, the one of pure heart. He was the giver in the friendship, and continued to forgive his best friend, even though his life (with his leg) was shattered because of his best friend’s actions. Finny eventually dies, and I remember it broke my heart. It didn’t seem fair. He was the good one, and the good ones are not supposed to suffer like that! He was one of my heroes because through the entire novel, he believed in the good of others, the one who continued to forgive.
Billy Budd from Billy Budd by Herman Melville : Ah, another tragic hero. It disturbed me so much that Billy Budd suffered like he did. He was liked by everybody, and didn’t have a mean bone in his body. In this novel, we see another “jealousy” plot, which leads to a murder accusation. Billy Budd gets sentenced and is hung at the end. Really? Billy Bud had a heart of gold, and he captured the readers’ love. I will always remember Billy Budd.
Rodion Raskolnikov From Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: No, he was not a hero, but for some reason, his character had a huge impact on me. As disturbing as this story was, I will always remember it. I believe it was because of Raskolnikov. Although he was a brutal murderer, he touched me. I couldn’t help but wish a happy ending for him.
The “heroes” from my readings as an adult:
Harry Potter from Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling: The orphan boy who grows up to be a famous wizard and kills the evil Voldemort! How can anybody not love the hero, Harry Potter, who saves the world?
Edward Cullen from Twilight by Stephanie Meyer: Need I say more?
Dimitri Belikov from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead: I love hot, badass guys. And Dimitri was definitely hot and a badass! Even when he went evil, I was still drawn to him (to some degree even more because he still was still protecting the love of his life)!
Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins: Katniss is feisty and strong. She’s a survivor and I like my female characters to not be weak and wait for their Knight In Shining Armor to save them. Katniss was not only able to save herself but Peeta as well!
Gale Hawthorne from The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins: He is a badass (and like I say, I love badass guys), and like Katniss, a survivor. I think Gale got screwed in the series, and for me he’s my tragic hero. He would have done anything for Katniss. No, I’m not upset that she didn’t pick him, but I can’t believe she pushed him out of her life, even though he was always there for her and her family. I’m still bitter about that!
Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins: He was a gentle soul and loved Katniss with his life. He would have died for her. Doesn’t everyone search for that type of unconditional love?
Hassan from The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: This guy is as good as they come. He had a beautiful soul inside and out. It breaks my heart how much he suffered as a boy and as a man. Not fair! I loved Hassan, and for me, he will always be a true hero!
Mariam and Laila from A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini: I will forever remember these two women. No matter how many times they fell, they got back up and stood up tall. Their strength and their friendship helped them through the worst times. To me, their characters symbolize all women’s perseverance through their suffering.
Enzo from The Art of Racing In The Rain: Can I get enough of Enzo? How can anybody not love Enzo? In this story, the dog, Enzo, is my hero. He stands by his owner through all the ups and downs of life. Enzo is truly a “man’s best friend” as this story is written from his point of view. Brilliant!
James (Jamie) Fraser from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: Ah, Jamie! Jamie starts as a young man of pride and integrity, and grows up to be a fierce warrior. Jamie loves Claire and would sacrifice his life to protect her. One of my favorite scenes from the book is when Claire tries to talk him out of marriage and asks if it bothers him that she’s not even a virgin. Jamie replies, “Well no… so long as it doesn’t bother you that I am.” He continues, “One of (them) should know what they’re doing.” Jamie Frasier, what a man!
These are few of my fiction heroes from some of my favorite books! What do you guys think? Did I forget anybody? I would love to hear which characters you were drawn to from your favorite books!
Soul Mates
Since I’m going to try to write my blogs related to my book, this one is going to be about soul mates. The following is a conversation between the main character, Tess, and her best friend, Kylie, from Chaysing Dreams:
“Well, do you believe in soul mates?” Kylie yells from the bathroom. I climb out of the bed and walk to the bathroom. I stand with my arms folded in front of me, leaning against the doorway as Kylie washes her face.
“Like, finding your perfect mate and being with them forever?” I think about that for a minute. Then, shaking my head, I say, “No, I don’t think so, Kylie. I think when two people are compatible, they just work at making it work.” I guess I’ve always been practical when it comes to romance.
Kylie dries her face and then turns to me. “Well, I believe in soul mates. I think two people are destined to be together. Maybe sometimes some people never find their soul mate. But I hope we do.” Kylie is obviously the more romantic one.
“I don’t know about all that,” I say. This conversation is too deep for me.
“Everybody has soul mates, Tess. You’ll see. When you find yours, I will remind you of this conversation.”
Ok, so now I ask you, are you with your soul mate? Do you even believe in soul mates? And does everybody only have one soul mate?
I wonder about topics like this because every once in a while, when I’m hanging out with my friends, or at work with my collegues, subjects like this pop up. It ends up leading to some deep discussions, having everybody evaluating their life. That’s always fun!
Many believe that your soul mate is put on Earth for you, and only you. People believe that you two are made for each other and once you find one another, you live happily ever after. Wouldn’t that be awesome!
Others believe that you have more than one soul mates. Your soul mate can be your sister, your best friend, your mother, etc. It’s the person you connect and bond with through eternity.
But what if you haven’t found your soul mate yet? Does that mean your soul mate doesn’t exist? Maybe you just haven’t met them yet. Or maybe you came across them numerous times, and neither of you realized that he or she is your soul mate! Talk about missed opportunities!
I’ve thought about this many times, especially when I find myself evaluating where I am in life. The practical and the realistic side of me believes what Tess believes. When two people meet, and they are compatible, they make it work. It’s not just happily ever after–relationships are not easy! If it’s worth it to you, and you want your relationship to grow, you have to be willing to work at it. It’s that simple.
But the romantic and the idealistic side of me likes to belive that there is such a thing as soul mates. I love the concept of “love conquers all.” I can’t help it. I simply can’t get rid of that romantic side in me, nor do I want to! I think all of us, to a certain degree, are a sucker for a good romance!
What are your thoughts? Is there such a thing as soul mates? Have you found yours?
Dreams
“Run!” Her inner voice yells at her. And she runs. She runs without looking back. She is scared. Something is chasing her. The sound of blood roars through her ears as her heartbeat is racing. What’s happening? But she doesn’t turn around. She runs because she knows her life depends on it. The wind howls and moans as she keeps running. She doesn’t know where she is running. It’s dark. She can’t see anything and she trips. She tries to stop her fall. Her hands get scraped on the ground. She feels branches and twigs on the ground as she pushes herself back up. She runs faster. The bramble and vine that saturate the forest floor lacerate her feet. She doesn’t know what she’s running from, but she can tell it is closing in on her. She can hear something cutting through the fallen branches behind her. She is breathing so fast! She feels the cuts from the branches sting her face. She ducks and dodges as she tries to escape. She is gasping for air, but she doesn’t care. She has to keep running. But she knows this “something” is getting closer. She’s suffocating. She feels like she is trapped. No, no! Please! Not like this! She keeps running, but she’s losing. She’s desperately flailing her arms to fight off whatever that’s chasing her. She screams, “No, no!” It has closed in on her. She feels it catch her. Oh my god! This thing has caught her! It’s shaking her. NO, NO!
In Chaysing Dreams, Tess, the main character, is haunted by her dreams. Eventually, she is forced to face her worst nightmare.
Have you ever woken up from a dream and wondered, “What the hell was that about?” I don’t know about you, but I’ve had the most bazaar dreams in my years.
I’ve had dreams about trying to escape from tornados, snakes, people chasing me, and even ex-boyfriends whom I haven’t thought about in years! I won’t even get started on my sexual dreams.
When my dreams are scary, I usually wake up, breathing heavy, trying to forget the dreams. But many times, the dreams I’m trying to forget, continue after I fall asleep again! What kind of luck is that!
Some of my most memorable dreams have been about people who have passed away. I remember when I was only nine years old, my grandma came into my dream a week after she passed away. Although I don’t remember the details about that dream, I remember feeling happy that I saw her one last time. I was always close to my Grandma Menna. (When my daughter was born fifteen years after her death, I named her Tajmenna after my grandma.)
More recently, one of my patients (I will call her Becky) passed away about five years ago. Although I deeply cared about her, my work colleague was extremely close to other. Becky was like a daughter to her. It was a death that impacted the whole department. My colleague went through deep depression.
Within a few years after her death, Becky came into my dream- twice. She wasn’t disabled and not bound to her wheelchair anymore. She was standing and walking and talking. She was babbling about something or another but dancing and looking beautiful as ever. I woke up in sweat, wondering why I’m dreaming about Becky, when I honestly didn’t even think about her too often. But then I thought maybe it was a message I was supposed to deliver to my colleague. Maybe Becky wanted her to know that she’s fine, and happy, and to not worry. I will forever cherish my dreams about Becky because I truly believe that it wasn’t by coincidence that I dreamed about her. I believe that Becky was worried about my colleague and intentionally used me as a “vessel” to communicate.
I’ve always been intrigued by dreams. Why do we dream? And what the hell do they mean? Ok, let’s get to the basic question. What is a dream? According to Webster, a dream is “a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep.” Ok, sounds simple enough. We dream mostly in our REM stage of sleep, which is when our brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake.
But what do these dreams mean? There are many theories. Sigmund Freud believed that dreams are a representation of our unconscious thoughts and desires. He wrote dreams are “disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes.”
Another theory suggests that dreams are interpretation of signals generated by our brain during sleep (activation-synthesis model of dreaming). This theory suggests that dreaming may be our most creative state, and often can lead to new ideas.
Yet other theories propose that dreams are a result of our brains trying to interpret external stimuli during sleep. (ie the alarm going off, or the radio playing in the background).
Another model suggests that during dreams we are able to make connections between different thoughts and emotions in a safe environment.
Ok, so these are just theories. Nobody knows for a fact why we dream and what they mean. What do I believe? I think dreams have something to do with our subconscious. Possibly our subconscious is communicating with us through our dreams. I don’t think we’ve even tapped into the power of our brains.
What do you guys think? I’d love to hear about some of your dreams or your beliefs/theories.
Jalpa Williby 