Describe a character from a book you have read and how he/she has influenced you. by Brittany

Describe a character from a book you have read and how he/she has influenced you. by Brittany - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

Growing up my grandmother’s two favorite gems of wisdom to give to me were walk a day in somebody else’s shoes to truly understand what he or she is going through, and that a person’s greatest strength could also be his or her’s greatest weakness. I am sure most of us would agree that walking a day in someone else’s shoes would give a new more in depth perspective of that person and all that he or she deals with, but not many of us are going to body swap like a character from Freaky Friday. I am not so sure how many people have had their strength be their downfall. As a child I heard what my grandmother was saying and I knew what she was saying was right, but I did not really understand what she was trying to tell me until I read about the character the Arm in Nancy Farmer’s book The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm.

The Arm along with the Ear and the Eye are detectives with heightened sensibilities living in a futuristic society with all many societal issues such as poverty, crime, and hunger. The Ear can hear sounds and pitches at high ranges and from extremely far distances his issue is that sometimes these noises are overwhelming, yet he has special headphones to block these noises out. The Eye’s sense of sight is heightened just like the Ear’s and his sensitivity to light is extreme, but he has special glasses that help protect his sight. Lastly the Arm, the most powerful of all three detectives can read people’s soul and also experience the emotions of all those around him, he is unable to block out these emotions which causes him problems because he feels all the anger and pain that those living in his town are going through. This takes a heavy toll on the Arm he is often depressed or bogged down with negative emotion, and he battles with balancing his purpose with his own personal desire to just be normal. Despite his inner turmoil he continues to work and help others because he realizes eventually and accepts that the purpose of his gift is greater than his own personal struggle.

When I read this book I realized what my grandmother meant was that I must commit to an understanding and consciousness beyond my own comfort and ignorance of a situation. The Arm lived in a constant state of experiencing emotions and mentalities beyond himself and it allowed him to grow into his true purpose, because he was not limited by a single solitary viewpoint. As a child and even now this lesson has remained crucial in my person growth, unlike the Arm I cannot feel the emotion of everyone I encounter by just walking by them, but I can ask, I can be a listening ear, and although I may not walk in the same shoes I can walk the same path. In doing these things I have learned to have compassion, understanding, and a consciousness of circumstances beyond myself. These are things that as a Public Health student I must constantly make sure that I incorporate when working with members of my community towards changing health disparities. Another influence the Arm had on me was in understanding how to not let my greatest strength become my greatest weakness by finding a balance in my life. I am constantly assessing what makes me strong, but also mindful that if my strengths are used in a negative way ultimately they will lead to negative outcomes. Also that I do need a balance between helping others find happiness, but also making sure I take some time for my own personal happiness. Lastly, like the Arm I try my best to make the best of a situation to realize that I may not understand in the moment why I have been placed in a situation but to see it through.

Overall the power of my grandmother’s words combined with the character in one of my favorite childhood books instilled in me lessons that remain relevant in my adult life. I doubt that this will ever change. The Arm had flaws, and so do I, everybody does. However the Arm never stopped growing, living, or learning despite his struggles. For me that lesson may be the most important everybody is going through something and if I can step outside myself to understand the bigger picture than my positive influence on society will be far better than it would if all I did was create solutions from where I am standing.