Unintentionally Inspirational by Rebecca

Unintentionally Inspirational by Rebecca - June 2014 Scholarship Essay

It's easy to say that I would write a book about my life or something inspirational in history. Something encouraging that uplifts the human spirit and pushes it to succeed and reach past its definition of limits. Something with rules to follow to better your life, or statistics that prove what is good for you and what is bad. But in my opinion, the best kinds of books are those that are left up to interpretation. They don't tell you what to think or how to feel. Fiction is my favorite genre of books because it is unintentionally inspirational. The author probably didn't try to write it to change someone's life or their view of the world, but they did. The best books that I have read have been fiction, and some of them just stick with you and change how you think. I love fantastic characterization that is so real and so relatable that you are sure that the character could very easily be you.

If I were to write a book it would be a fictional story of a girl. A girl that is small but powerful. She has a powerful mind and the way she thinks is flawed but perfect. It is in first-person and simply reading her thoughts on a page isn't enough. You can feel her feelings and speak her words simply because it is so human and relatable to each person who reads it in a unique way that can never be really understood. That's how reading should be. That's how someone falls completely in love with a book and can't put it down. The world around them fades out because the book is so relatable and therefore unintentionally inspirational. Although the plot matters, people matter most. The character makes the story. Her feelings, her personal story, and what makes her who she is draws other people in. People matter and people are naturally drawn to other people whether fictional or real.

Some of the best books that I have read have been based upon the plot that something impossible happens to someone who is very mundane. Everyone feels ordinary, even if they are all extraordinary in different ways. When the character defeats the impossible, the reader feels as though they can do anything. If the character that is so much like them could accomplish the impossible, then the reader can surely conquer their next struggle in life. In a sense, it is again unintentionally inspirational. If I were to design a plot I would base is along the lines of an ordinary girl with an impossible situation. I would probably create her to gain powers unexpectedly through some kind of tragic accident. Ideally I would give her the power to turn into a dragon because that represents beauty and danger all rolled up into one. In the end she would learn to control it and put her power to good use. I know this must sound terribly cliche but the character herself would be relatable and even though the situation is not, the struggle is. Day by day people struggle with decisions of whether something is good or bad, right or wrong, and what they should do about it. The girl is facing the same struggle but in a much bigger proportion and the struggle is within herself. She is choosing whether she is going to do good or destroy, which is the choice that people everywhere ultimately make. Will they spend their day encouraging someone, being creative and kind, or will they tear down others and insist on doing nothing and thinking about their pain day in and day out.

Overall I would want my book to be relatable and express the raw emotion and persona of humans in their day to day lives through something bigger. I want them to fall in love with the character and her story. But most of all I want it to inspire my readers, leave them thinking, and change the way they live.