Letting Go of the Lies

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a fantastic novel that brings the importance of expectations and purpose into the light. Reading this book as rising Freshman has been particularly influential on how I have reflected on high school and the changes I would like to make for college. 
As a freshman I expected things to be easy. 

      

Easy not as effortless but easy as manageable. Not just     for school work but for social life, and for extracurriculars too.

However, even in the first few weeks of high school I discovered how wrong I was. I entered high school with a broken back and a positive attitude. I believed in the life philosophy of be nice to everyone and be perfect-- always. 

In the first few weeks of high school we embarked on freshman retreat where I was endlessly mocked for my inability to participate in activities because of my back. I shrugged it off and moved on. However, as I progressed I discovered that my life philosophy did not always yield the results I had hoped. I allowed myself to bend backwards to please people and always ended up unhappy. Instead I threw myself into my community service and extracurriculars and gave up on school--retrospectively not a wise decision. 

I can appreciate the Hailsham students for their variant of attitudes, perspective on social conformities, and for their compartmentalisation. Each student has an individual personality which is impressive even for real children, however, they manage to put aside their differences when possible and form groups. Life is  progression, a movement and a roller coaster. Shifting and a constant learning process Ishiguro's writing style is incredibly interesting and I look forward to gaining perspective.