My 11 year-old daughter recently rented a book from the library and when she finished it she told me I might like to read it. I was skeptical at first because she had picked the book from the young adult section, but the summary sounded good, so I gave it a try.
I am happy to say that I loved the book. I am humbled and thrilled. I never thought I would enjoy the same book as my 11 yo. I am impressed with her reading prowess. She has been an avid reader for years; she would be happy if she could read for 10 hours a day, every day. In fact, I often have to tell her to put her book down when we need to get something done or leave the house.
The book she picked out was Golden by Jessi Kirby. I love the messages throughout the book, as well as the Robert Frost quotes at the start of each chapter, such as: "Into Your Own", The Courage to Be New", "A Boundless Moment", and of course the famous "I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.".
My favorite quote from the book is a thought-provoking one: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?". The quote is from a poem (The Summer Day) by Mary Oliver. In the book, a teacher has his students spend the end of their senior year journaling about their present lives as well as their dreams for their future lives. The teacher collects the journals and then mails them out to the students 10 years later. (I love this idea and wish I had done it my senior year.)
This book makes me want to seize and treasure the moment. It makes me want to get so much out of this one life that we live. I passionately love books, quotes, and thoughts that inspire me to do more, to be more.
Near the end of the book, as it reaches toward its climax, the main character has the following thoughts:
"True love, meant to be, fate, destiny, serendipity, kismet. They're all big, romantic words. Words saved for movies and books and fiction. Not for real life. In real life parents get divorced, and people live unfulfilled lives, and love goes unrequited, and there are no second chances, or do-overs, or perfect moments." While I do believe that some people live unfulfilled lives, I also strongly believe that there are second chances and perfect moments. I love the romantic notions of fate and destiny and serendipity. All of our lives revolve around love, in many varied roles, shapes, and sizes; we all need it for survival; it increases our enjoyment of our time here on earth.
On a side note, I thought this book was an older one as the pages seemed yellow. I was surprised to see the copyright date was 2013; and of course, serendipitously, my local library had a date stamp for receiving the book on July 8, my birthday.
Thank you, Jessi Kirby, for writing this book.
Thank you, my fabulous daughter Cori, for recommending this book to me. May you always keep your passion for reading and perhaps one day become an accomplished writer yourself with that creative imagination of yours.
Passionately Yours,
Me
Motivational Moment:
May you live your "one wild and precious life" to the fullest; may you be challenged, inspired, and impassioned throughout your life.
"...what is it YOU plan to do with your ONE wild and precious life?"
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