2015 High School Summer Reading List: "The Power of Now" by Lydia

2015 High School Summer Reading List: "The Power of Now" by Lydia - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

Having graduated from high school 14 years ago, I have finally grasped the deeper, darker facets of "The Great Gatsby," but it took all of my twenties and a Baz Luhrmann movie to drive the message home. Several of my friends have said the same. It got me to thinking: Why have we been made to read a book in high school English that cannot be truly understood until one has some Life Experience under the belt? Which led to the question: What would I replace it with, if I was in charge of choosing books for the Summer Reading List?

I gave the question some thought, and concluded that "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle would be an excellent substitute. The book teaches one how to get out of the mind and live in the present moment, by giving simple advice and meditations on how to deal with situations that present themselves and on accepting the world as it is. I believe this kind of help would really benefit high school students, as they are figuring out their identities and still developing socially. It may help guide decision-making, providing simple wisdom on how to approach the world. And perhaps give these fledgling adults a quiet self-assurance that will help them find their path more clearly.

It's a hard thing, finding your identity. But once you do, life is so much freer, and the earlier you do it, the better. You make better decisions and learn how to be. I have finally decided to go to medical school, and I know I'm able to and truly want to because I've learned how to think and to live, from books like "The Power of Now," yoga and meditation. I think I might have been able to go to medical school nice years ago, had I nurtured my mental and emotional states earlier on. Maybe, had "The Power of Now" been on the Summer Reading List.