Live, Learn, & Love by Angela

Live, Learn, & Love by Angela - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

A strong character who influenced my life is Jo March from Louisa May Alcott’s "Little Women." I grew up as a child reading this lovable story, however, now I can more fully appreciate and comprehend the book’s valuable life lessons. Jo reminds me of myself, and I find myself cheering her on through the ups and downs of her life while wishing I could live in that time era and prove myself as honorably as she does.

Jo, a very loving and caring person, goes to extremes to help others. She has three sisters, a mother, and a father who is off fighting in the civil war. The family is very close and loving although they do have their squabbles. She treats each of her sisters’ lovingly. Jo has a special place in her heart for quiet angel-like Beth, a younger sister, whom she cares for her throughout her weakening health and death. Additionally, Jo sacrificially donates her earnings from her journalist articles to Beth for a visit to the seashore in an attempt to improve her health. When her father is injured in the war she sells her most prized possession, her very long hair, to provide money for him. Short hair was not appropriate for women in this time period. In another insistence, Jo is asked to care for and read to a crotchety elderly aunt. She begrudgingly complies and eventually overcomes her dislike of the woman and even learns to respect her. Jo’s actions and sacrifices show how important she values her family.

Not only is Jo caring, but she also is an extremely independent and strong willed woman. In the era of the Civil War, it was uncommon for women to pursue careers. Jo is very career orientated and dedicated to her work. She works very hard as a writer and is constantly cooped up in her room working on new articles. Printing works is a competitive process. Even though it hurt her pride, she uses a man’s name as an alias in order to sell her work as in that time period female written articles were not popular.

Although her strong spirit, defiance of social norms, and candid speech may get her into trouble often, Jo’s impeccable self-reflection is admirable. She often asks her mother for advice on handling her anger and quick tongue. Her younger sister Amy once threw Jo’s entire story in the fire. In her anger, Jo ignored Amy as she followed her onto a frozen lake to ice skate. When Amy falls through the lake and almost drowns, Jo learns to forgive and realizes the consequences of anger. When Jo complains her mother teaches her gratitude. One Christmas morning the girls are unhappy because their father is still away at war and the homemade gifts are sparse. Their mother takes them to visit a poor family with a sick infant and the girls, realizing the gravity of the situation, joyfully give the family their own Christmas dinner and gifts. The girls repent and learn to be grateful for what they have that Christmas morning.

I find myself similar to Jo. I have a large caring family with three sisters and also eight brothers. I have a handicapped younger brother who had multiple life-saving surgeries as an infant. We all learned to care for him and love him at an early age and work to help him reach his full potential. The value of a loving family is shown by Jo throughout this book. Additionally, as a ten year old when I first read this book, I admired Jo so much that I also cut my waist length hair to donate to cancer patients. The character Jo, along with my parents and teachers, inspired me to be hard working in my studies and now I am pursuing my dreams of a career in the medical field. I also believe, like Jo, that a person should be able to analyze their faults, learn from mistakes and grow from them. It is important to have Jo’s self-confidence and speak up for what you believe, but also to know when you are wrong. Lastly there is the issue of gratitude for which I sometimes fall short and need to be reminded of Jo’s Christmas morning experience. In June I am traveling to Zambia with a missionary group to offer assistance to orphans in need and hope to gain a new appreciation for the things I take for granted.

Recently re-reading this book, I was again struck by the deep hearted, true, and full meaning of the story. In their simple life the March family take what they have and share it as best they can, in turn making them- selves happy and giving their life meaning. I continue to find myself as a young adult inspired by Jo’s caring attitude, determination and work ethic, and spirit of gratitude.