You Only Live Twice by Ella

You Only Live Twice by Ella - July 2021 Scholarship Essay

You only die twice. When you imagine life as it is, it seems to move forward in a simple straight forward progression. Birth, life, death. The endless cycle that begins with one person and nips at the heels of the next generation. This is the life that many people live and those who break out of this glass box don't even exist.

You may be wondering, how does somebody live twice? Is there some undiscovered medical treatment that can cure all sickness? Is there a magical potion that can bring someone back to life? Yes. And the answers lie in the pages of books.

When I meet with the members of my school’s book club we always have the most amazing unexpected conversations. We often fall back on the discussion of characters and their lives. They live through fantastical adventures, battling dragons and meeting goblins. Often in these stories, something goes wrong. Terribly wrong. A sword through the heart, a spell gone wrong, the villain finally getting what they hoped for. These characters always have something that they can rely on. A second chance.

We as readers expect their stories to come to an abrupt halt. For tears to be shed for the lives lost and to feel the everburning hole of losing a character. When we see that there is a possibility for them to come back, we become hopeful.

A completely unexpected twist in the story can be the catalyst needed to change the course of a character's life. A second chance.

Life is full of mistakes. Mistakes that may sometimes feel like it is the end of the world but out of these mistakes second chances are born. An opportunity to learn and grow. We can learn alot from others, even those who don't exist. There will be times where you fail, times where you have no choice but to pick yourself back up. We can turn the unexpected into opportunity and come back better than before.

If life is all about change, the most unexpected thing that we can take away from the characters that exist solely in our imaginations is that nothing can stop you. Not even death.