Reflection prompt

Life as a child is full of dreams and aspirations. Sometimes, certain events and occurrences create a twist in the dreams of a child. Every person wishes to have a good life and achieve his or her goals, but despite this, there are challenges that one might face. Santiago had dream and passion for education since he loved reading. He is later seen herding sheep, which means he dropped out of school to take care of the animals. Santiago’s life is not so different from any other young person’s life.

Santiago’s story well connects with my life as a reflection. I had always dreamt of being a lawyer in life, coming from a poor countryside, and seeing how peasant farmers were treated, I felt that they needed justice. I believed that by being a lawyer, I will always find a way to fight for their rights. My father was a famer too and used to grow corn. Oxen would always plough the small pieces of land that my father owned. I would always assist at home and in the evenings, my mother always taught me how to read. I used to envy other children in town who went to school because they had money. On Sundays, I would spend in the Church and after Sunday school; I would remain behind to listen to the stories from our teacher. I had little playtime as I used to run errands for the house. My sister was still young then.

Years later, my father got a job in the City as a mason. We were excited and I was particularly happy since I loved adventure. I always wanted to move places and see the world. I had heard stories of how people in the city were. Soon we were in our new home and my father left every day for work. I enrolled in the nearby school and my father tried hard to get money to pay for my studies. At school, other children would tease me because I was from the countryside. Bullies always made me feel uncomfortable in that I some days, I skipped attending classes. The new people I met made me wish to go back to the countryside where I was always welcomed. One day, I met a girl who was kind to me. She assisted me in studying and would even lend me her books to read. She came from a wealthy family and one day she invited me to her place. As time passed, I adjusted to new life. The school enabled me to move further to other places and bigger cities.

From Santiago’s story, there are several quotes that interest me, three of them are quite interesting. “Well I would like to see their lands and how they live,” this is when Santiago was expressing his desire to move to other places and see the world. Even though the father was insisting that he stays at home, Santiago shows persistence which eventually leads to the unfolding of the story. It is only through persistence and resilience that people achieve their goals and dreams. “Well, if you know how to read, why are you then a shepherd?” this happens when Santiago meets the Merchants daughter. According to the girl, it appeared ironical that a shepherd would be able to read. This is common with other people who always appear judgmental. We learn that we should not be too quick to judge others. “I know other girls in other places”, this is when Santiago was thinking about the Merchant’s daughter while talking to the Sheep, in real sense, talking to himself. He tries to convince himself that maybe the girl had met other rich shepherds, who might have asked for marriage, but this is not the case, Santiago was in love with the girl, which makes him more anxious and curios. Santiago is in love with the girl and is just jealousy. Generally, life to success requires determination and persistence. It always gets difficult and we may not always get what we want especially when we are from a poor background.

Reading reflection