“All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances; each man in his time plays many parts.” Those words were penned nearly five hundred years ago by the playwright William Shakespeare, yet the message expressed in them still endures in today’s world. We each enact a variety of roles throughout our life, but unlike actors, we are not always given the choice in the parts we play. Daughter, sister, friend, scholar, and athlete are only a number of the assorted roles I currently portray. The above mentioned roles however, are bequeathed to me, they are not necessarily the ones I would choose for myself. I am much more than someone’s shoulder to cry on, a varsity cross country runner, and a straight “A“ student. I am a hopeless romantic, a harmonious individual, and an unyielding force when it comes to my convictions.
Hans Christen Andersen fabricated a fairy tale based upon it. Black Sabbath sang a song about it. Doc Brown from Back to the Future did it, as did Captain Kirk from Star Trek. What was it they did? They time traveled. If I could have but one wish, it would be to defy the fourth dimension of our universe and meander through history. There are many moments when I feel that I was born into the wrong century. It is not that I do not appreciate the luxuries of the modern world, I do; heaven only knows how I would function without my laptop and music system. Then however, there are instances when I honestly believe that I could give all of it up for a world filled with elegantly dressed women, and courteous, refined men. To a great extent, I am a hopeless romantic at heart. Put simply, I do believe in true love and fairy tales. I am an idealist, a sentimental dreamer, and a imaginative, fanciful person. The things I read and the movies I watch greatly reflect this. Jane Austen’s works particularly fascinate me. All of her novels generally conclude with the heroine finding her hero and marrying him. Her characters: Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley, Marianne Dashwood and Christopher Brandon, all seem to have been created for each other. In a world full of Facebook hookups, and text message break-ups it is nice to imagine that one person out of the six billion on this planet is sculpted just for us. Nicholas Sparks also plays heavily on the idea of an everlasting romance. In the 2004 film The Notebook, based upon his novel, two young lovers are separated for years because of their social differences, but then reunite later in life thanks to a chance article in the local newspaper. Today, we live in a cynical world, full of scientists and their explanations. The worlds of both Jane Austen’s and Nicholas Spark’s characters were much different. Their eras were full of galas and ornate houses, or small town ice cream socials, and late night dances down by the river. During their eras, there was no scientific data to disprove the existence of miracles. I do believe in miracles, no matter how miniscule or life changing. To quote George Sand, a French writer, “there is but one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.”
Although my head is often in the clouds, spinning with dreams of fairy tales and Prince Charming, many times I am surprised by my composure in every situation. I am the person friends turn to when they are in need of advice. I am the person to whom parents entrust their children’s safety . Most importantly of all, I am a peacemaker. The one thing I detest more than anything is violence. Contact sports? Not my thing. Fights in the hallways? I turn and walk quickly in the opposite direction. Intense, gory movies? I cringe. The list goes on and on. It is my belief that we are all in the same boat, and we need this boat to get wherever it is that we are going. It is a good boat. There is no need to rock it just to show that we can. As we mature, each of us discovers our own unique talents. This year, I have uncovered one of mine. I work well under stress. In fact, I thrive when placed under a time constraint or deadline. My first period class, Advanced Placement World History, is a prime example of this. Essays are the basis for the class, and more often than not, they are timed. We are typically given ten minutes to plan. Those brief seconds are crucial, they essentially make or break an essay. I love those anxious, nerve wracking moments. The rush I get is indescribable. Classmates rapidly fire questions at me, and I calmly, thoroughly answer each in turn. Then, just like that, the stress is gone and so is my surge of adrenaline. Those brief moments however, are enough to make me realize how well I cope with pressure.
Coping with pressure has proved to be a valuable trait both in the classroom and out. People change; this I learned the hard way. Individuals I have looked up to in previous years have lost all my respect. The decisions they have made, though not wrong in t
, though not wrong in their eyes, have destroyed any ounce of admiration I may have once had for them. My parents have never been the kind to give me a speech on the dangers of drugs and the risks of sex. They have never sat me down and said “no, those things are wrong and you cannot do them.“ Yet, on my own, I have adhered to a strong code of ethics that many teenagers seem to be lacking. Seldom is a crude or crass word heard coming from me. I have never “experimented” with anything: drugs, sex, and alcohol included. People around me have though. It is those people who have destroyed the friendship we had together. As a result of my beliefs, I have often been labeled a “goody-goody”. This used to trouble me. Today it does not. There was a time when I would have done anything to be accepted by others. That time is past. I have learned, through my own experiences, that it takes more to stand out from a crowd than to fit into it. I will not conform to suit a warped standard of “cool
I will not change who I am to be respected by my peers. I will not sacrifice myself or my convictions for anyone or anything.
There are many definitions of the word “self.” It takes on a different connotation to each individual who encounters it. For some, their “self” is defined by material things. For others, “self” is defined by what they see in the mirror. For me, “self” is defined not by what I own, or what is reflected in glass, it is defined by my thoughts, my actions, and my beliefs. I am a dreamer. I am a pacifist. I am an innocent in an unkind world. I am, Sarah.
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