The Alchemist (vol. I)

Two quarters and a dime jingled in her pocket as she juggled the last bit of savings in her pocket. She was a small town girl who had put herself through college to make it to the big city. But her travelling companion, her best friend, had given up and gone back to Mississippi. She had no job, no friends, no money, and only a dream. She figured she had two options: Accept she can’t make it and go home or refuse to give up on her dream. I’m here today because my mother didn’t go home. I’m here because every time in my parent’s lives as individuals and as a couple they never gave up. My parents, and all of my family really, have passed on their tales of dreams won and lost. The pain of never trying and the joy of success were all recounted to me as a child. So I harmonize a great deal with Coelho’s work as it is a story I have heard many times over. My father tells tales in which he points out markers where he felt God opening a door, closing another, or simply providing hope. These are the lessons which are taught to the boy in The Alchemist. He learns about the importance of following one’s dreams and the sorrow that comes with never pursuing them. Coelho seeks to demonstrate the power that comes to individuals willing to chase their dreams. Ultimately, the journey taken by the boy teaches him that life is an adventure laid out before us by God, written by the author of love that we may find life and life to the full.