Reflect and Nourish

When I started receiving emails from my college counselor about internship opportunities, I felt overwhelmed. I still don’t know exactly what I want to do with my life, so how am I supposed to know which internship will best prepare me for a career? 

On top of that, I’m a young woman who is trying to find her place in this world. My career goals, core values, and future plans are all aspects of my life that I’m still trying to figure out. 

Just as I was going through this mid-college identity crisis, I found an excellent book to help soothe my anxieties a bit: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. 

To give you a quick run-down, The Alchemist follows a boy named Santiago who decides to become a shepherd and travel the world despite facing pressure from his community to become a priest. He has a dream about seeing the pyramids of Egypt, so he goes to a gypsy to inquire about what it means. As it turns out, he must go there and find a treasure. 

So, he takes on the challenge. Along the way, he meets an old man who calls himself the king of Salem, a merchant of a crystal shop, an Englishman, and (shocker) an alchemist. Each of them teaches him important life lessons he needs to reach his destination. 

Coelho’s spiritual wisdom and thought-provoking dialogue inspired me to find and pursue my calling. 

One particular moment in the book struck a chord with me: when the old man first approaches Santiago, he sparks a discussion with him about “Personal Legends,” or callings. 

He explains that people fail to find their Personal Legends because they believe “the world’s greatest lie”: 

“It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate,” the old man said. “That’s the world’s greatest lie” (Coelho 18). 

This lie is deeply ingrained within many of us. Society tells us that we must go to college, get a “real job,” get married, have kids, retire, and die. This is the formula that has been spoon-fed to us since we were children. 

But goodness gracious, there are so many different ways one can live! Imagine what our world would be like if every single person followed this basic formula to a T: we would lose innovators, entrepreneurs, actors, artists, Buddhist monks, you name it. We wouldn’t be able to fully experience the gifts of Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, or Paulo Coelho himself. 

The world depends on people who know the gifts they have to offer the world and then act on them with full force. We have a choice to use our passions and talents to make the world a better place, so why not march to the beat of our own drums?

I’m not arguing that you should drop out of college, quit your job, or go against the grain for the sake of going against the grain. I simply encourage you to question whether you truly want the opportunities society taught you to want. 

I don’t want to spoil too much of The Alchemist, but Santiago reaches a point in his journey where his life depends on his ability to complete an incredible feat. At this point, the alchemist tells him, “Usually, the threat of death makes people a lot more aware of their lives” (142). 

Ponder this: if your doctor told you that you were going to die in three months, what would you do with your remaining time? What would you really fight for? 

These questions are worth thinking about because they will help you home in on your deepest desires in life. Once you get clear on what you want, you can take action to make it happen. 

I highly recommend this book. It taught me the importance of having faith in oneself, trust in the universe, and patience and persistence in working towards one’s goals. 

Ultimately, you can read all the self-help books in the library, consult every career counselor in the world, and watch every inspirational TedTalk to date, but you will only find your calling in one place, according to the alchemist: 

“Remember that wherever your heart is, you will find your treasure” (115).