The Five Most Important Lessons in a Book by Calvin

The Five Most Important Lessons in a Book by Calvin - May 2017 Scholarship Essay

I have gone back and forth over several books that have best influenced my life: The Shack, The Last Lecture, and the Harry Potter series were all significant novels that had an impact. However, one book continued to come to my mind as I thought about what to write this essay on. The book is The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. The story is of a man, Eddie, who dies saving a little girl and the lessons he learns from five people he had met during his lifetime. The lessons differ in nature and origin, yet each carries a significant meaning and weight. This book has inspired me with each of its five lessons.
The first lesson comes from a man with blue skin. Eddie had met the man only once, but an action Eddie had made changed the man’s life. The lesson gleaned from the Blue Man is that all lives are interconnected on some level. Eddie’s running out into the street to grab his baseball seemed mundane enough to him, even if he was almost hit by a car. For the Blue Man, however, that experience affected the course his life took. The experience made the Blue Man’s weak heart race, which eventually caused too much stress and led to his death. I have been influenced by the lesson of the Blue Man in that I never take my actions for granted. I know that even what may seem like an off-hand comment to me, may deeply affect someone else. It is with that knowledge that I make sure my actions and words are chosen carefully.
Eddie’s former Captain during the war provides the second lesson of the book. The Captain shows that sacrifices are a part of life, whether they seem good or bad. He taught me that everyone makes sacrifices. Some people make big ones, while others may make smaller day-to-day sacrifices. Still, all sacrifices affect other lives in some way. This lesson puts into focus that the sacrifices I make may seem difficult, but are often necessary.
People we may have never met can influence us, as was the case with Ruby. The pier, where Eddie worked, was named after Ruby. When Eddie meets her in heaven she talks to him about his father and assists Eddie in forgiving and releasing his anger. Ruby’s story has influenced me by showing me the truth that there is always more than one side to a story. I return to this chapter when I have difficulty letting go of my anger. It helps me clear my mind and remember that there may be factors I am unaware of affecting a situation that I don’t know about. Ruby taught me the importance of letting go of anger and practicing forgiveness.
I returned again to this book after my Grandfather died. I went to the chapters about the fourth person Eddie meets in heaven: his wife, Marguerite. Marguerite’s chapters are easily the happiest in the book, and she only leaves her lesson at the very end. The lesson she leaves is that love is unbelievably powerful, even after death. I was very close with my Grandfather, and when he passed away, I felt incredibly empty without him. Marguerite helped me learn that there are all kinds of love, some of which are stronger than others.
The final and most powerful lesson in the book comes from a little girl named Tala. Tala was a small girl hiding inside a barn which Eddie burned down while he was in the war. Tala’s message is the most powerful in the book. Her lesson is that regardless of a person’s actions, all lives have purpose. I took from Tala a deeper meaning that has affected my life. I took that I should live for a reason the same way a person may die for a reason. She ties together all of the lessons from the previous four people: where you are today is a combination of all your past actions, previous decisions, and the way people around you have affected you. I have taken this as a maxim in my life and hope I am, have been, and will be, one of those important people for someone else.
Eddie meets five people in Heaven that help him make sense of his life. It seems to me a bit unfortunate that we do not know who our own five people are while here on Earth. This book has brought a two-fold question to my mind: Who will my five people be, and who might I be a person ‘in heaven’ for? The book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven has influenced me by making me want to live a life where those I meet in Heaven can tell me I have lived a good life and I have been a person who has affected people positively.