The Wisdom You Can Only Learn Through Patience by Nikolina

The Wisdom You Can Only Learn Through Patience by Nikolina - June 2022 Scholarship Essay

These days, I feel particularly scared. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, I’m anxious about all that’s around me. However, what gives me hope is knowing that my anxieties will pass with the coming of time and enough belief in my future. I learned this recently through Khaled Hosseini’s heartbreaking novel A Thousand Splendid Suns.
A Thousand Splendid Suns takes place in Afghanistan, during the rise of communism and the Taliban. The story highlights the war and struggle of the country mainly through the interesting perspective of two females - Mariam and Laila. Mariam, the older of the two, lived a life of constant heartbreaks. She felt unloved by her pessimistic mother, dishonest father, disrespectful family members, and inhumane husband. Because she didn’t grow up around people who loved her, she never truly knew how to love herself or what it felt like to receive real love. When she was married, her husband made it even worse by beating her up if she made simple mistakes, making her sleep in a separate bedroom, and never addressing her respectfully, especially when people were around. Although she grew up without much love, she still learned to give much out into the world. This is where Laila came into place. Mariam met Laila later on in her life, when she was crumbling into great despair. Laila taught her to be tough and not let others knock her down. Through Laila, Mariam was finally able to shift into a strong, powerful woman. Perhaps the Mariam that always had existed silently, finally creeped out with power to attack the world. Although I have learned to love Laila’s tirelessly blissful and enchanting courage she had since she was a child, Mariam has taught me a far more important lesson - to take it slow.
Mariam, even though it took her a while to understand herself, was quite wise. Although she was a poor village girl, she understood how the world worked. She knew her place in the world and lived quite humbly because of it. She lived her days as peacefully as she could - cooking in the kitchen, tending her home, trying to please her husband. Although it doesn’t seem like much, she still had achieved a lot. By the end of it, she came out strong and fearless, no longer scared of being hurt by anyone. She revealed to her readers that you do not need to break your back or go through mindless toils to reach a state of success. Success will find you when you have a clear mind, which is what Mariam had and kept with her through many years. Her prayers were answered when Laila found her and saved her from rotting. She knew her weaknesses and what the people around her were capable of. With this knowledge, she was able to lean on Laila and give Laila something to lean on as well. She may not be perceived as the strongest character to most readers but she was to me because of her ability to take it slow. Often, we don’t have much patience and due to this, fail to admit how vital it is in our personal development. When we accept the world around us for what it is, like Mariam, we are able to breathe and heal from our many tortures.
I think everyone around me is taking life a bit fast. Their minds aren’t focused on today but instead on tomorrow, next week, and even a year from now. If we take life day by day, challenge by challenge, it gets easier. I’m a very anxious person. It’s hard for me to live in the moment and not worry about the future. However, with my time I shared with the characters of this book, I understood the need to relax. I can’t solve all of the world’s problems today, on a random Tuesday morning in the middle of summer. However, Mariam taught me that with patience and endurance, luck and opportunity will be waiting for me. She gives me the strength to keep going, even when I feel like I’m not doing much because I know that as long as I hold on tight and truly believe in myself, I will succeed.