Into The Wild

Into The Wild. Powerful, compelling, and simply fascinating. Sean Penn has crafted one of the most awe-inspiring films I have seen. It is a true story of a young man named Christopher McCandless, who sets out on a journey to find himself shortly after his graduation from Emory University. The movie takes you through Christopher's trials and tribulations as he embarks across country, eventually hoping to reach his ultimate destination: the wilderness of Alaska. This movie, inspired by the book written by Jon Krakauer, was a reading requirement for a course I had in high school. Unfortunately, at the age of seventeen, the moral of Chris's story had virtually no impact on me. Back then, I looked at Chris with skepticism, as I could not fathom anyone partaking on such a journey. As I have matured and grown into a young adult, today I can emphathize with Chris's anomaly in his search for solitude away from the complexes of society. My favorite part about Chris is his ability to breakaway from the societal norm and set sail into a sea of unknown, to appreciate the very foundation of human life that people often take for granted - LOVE. And by this I mean the love that encompasses every aspect of our very being...a true appreciation for the world in which we live and others who inhabit it. The reason I have decided to share this movie/book with you on the blog is because I feel that it brings an astonishing perspective to any young adult who is about to venture out into the world after high school or college. It is a self-revelating story that I guarantee will leave any reader or movie-goer with a feeling of wanting to re-prioritize their lives for the better. If you as an individual have a passion or a devotion to something, it's simple - go for it. Don't major in something for the prestige after college; don't enter into a company because of the name recognition; and don't take a job because you know it will give you a lot of disposable income to spend on material items. I am telling you this because that is what our elders always preach upon us at their old age...it is one of the "you-live-and-learn" factors in life. But it doesn't have to be. If people would just listen to those respected individuals who have gone through the peaks and troughs of life, and if people would simply follow their heart and not their pocket or name plate, they will be able to stray away from these beaten paths that society willingly hands to us at graduation day. And yes, for those who know me, I am majoring in finance which through my own trials and tribulations I have discovered it is not my dire passion. Yet for some it is their passion, and that is the beauty of it all. The beauty is that we are all such a diverse group of individuals in this world driven by various wonders in this life. This is why I am here today with this blog, because sometimes we don't listen to those who know best, we don't follow our hearts, and then we have to make changes. Sometimes those changes are tough because it is hard in today's world to sometimes escape that routine of everyday life once you are positioned into it. Luckily for me, I have realized this at the age of twenty-two, but no matter your age, as Christopher McCandless told the elder man in the movie, you can do whatever you want that lets you "live" again. Old or young, think of what makes you come alive and start going for it. Even if you have to take the tiniest steps at first...a little bit always goes a long way. As the famous quote by Harold Thurman goes...“Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”