I was told to write about good life experience. I couldn't recall a single, lonely memory: I've found that the past in my eyes seems an odd stew of wincing bitter, frozen heat, and dying light. I was told to write about relationships. How bland would that taste, revolving my story around another? Writers thrive in narcissism. We only succeed when we write of ourselves, even if the names or circumstances differ. I was told to write about my interests. I wish I had interests to write of, but my mind and heart have become slaves to my education. I am one of many robots the education system in America is creating. Writing has become my only solace in a world too bright to bear another star and too dark too allow any light. I was told to write about travelling. Yes, I could do this. I've been so many places and seen so many things. What does that matter, truly, in the end? If I was too stressed to live, I was certainly in my own world too much to allow those travels to morph me in the ways they should have. I was told to write my heart. But what is that? Is my heart the melting pot of all I've been through, or the emotions I've felt, or is it my beliefs? I suppose the 'correct' answer would be that my heart is the amalgamation of all of these ideas. That I am not one thing, I am many, and cannot be confined to the bars of one single category. However, when, other than in movies, does the 'right' side prevail? When is it that 'good' is louder than 'evil'? How can I preach the pureness of my heart when my eyes only see that resonating evil? I was told to write, and never stop writing, because that was my dream. These people standing around me, who claim to support me -- love me -- encourage my insanity. They smile while I run on my treadmill with the goal of reaching the crown of the mountain, so I can look down at all the other treadmills around and thank the stars that I'm not on one. I was told to write what I love. But I was also told to write what I know. I do not know what I love. No one truly knows what or who they love until those things are gone and you're left alone, reminiscing on the past and spiting yourself for not still living there. I was told to write, but for a while, I failed to. I live with a horrid sense of dread each day, because the longer I go, the closer I know I am to the acknowledgement of my paralysis. For those years, I was terrified of failure, but even more terrified of success. It petrified me to think that I had been lying to myself for so long; it petrified me that maybe I was alright. Maybe I even had talent. I was told to write, but never told why. I think I might be discovering my why. I will not write for anyone else. I will not write for success, or for fame, or for money. I will write for my own sanity, and to attempt fulfilling a dream. I've heard one in a million authors get to fulfill their dreams, so maybe I'll play the game, instead of sitting aside, fearing it. I was told to write, and I will, but the only voice I am obeying is my own. I have been desperately telling myself to write for quite some time.

Don Quixote With bravado and crossroads, the seventeenth century classic Don Quixote, fully titled The Ingenious Nobleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha, uses the protagonist, Don Quixote, to reveal gender-based thinking strategies that lead to an understanding of unfulfilled longings that reside within the self. This frame tale uses adventures, beauty, dissatisfaction with one's lot, and the pursuit of a family to reveal norms that shape the individual. Don Quixote's dissatisfactions also involve dynamic-duo quests that emphasize male social norms derived from myths. Moreover, myths that involve heroic narrative arcs are critical to a reader's psychological development because an individual's psyche is responsible for the people they encounter in their lives, decision-making, and goals. Because goals are so important, Don Quixote's character is portrayed as a foil that is narrated as kind, deliberate, and brave. His stance is in opposition to Sancho Panza, who is an agreeable peasant. Quixote performs brave acts to honor his love interest, Dulcinea, while ultimately remaining unmarried, unfulfilled and defeated by the strangers he encounters because his methods of bravery are too unconventional and viewed as insanity; influenced by myths in his collection of novels. On the other hand, Sancho is married with a child and leaves his family to accompany Quixote on his adventures with hopes of acquiring wealth. He is religious, adheres to societal norms, and would like his daughter to marry a nobleman. His stance is juxtaposed with Quixote's delusions of being a knight to display the effects of choice. Nonetheless, with poignant foreshadowing, we can view Sancho as the individual in society who depends on a Christ-like figure to save him with a reward for his good deeds and obedience. He accompanies Don Quixote, his Christ, for riches. Sancho's reactions to the developments in the narrative stem from his submissive role. While Sancho is desperately trying to fulfill his role as Don Quixote's helper, he seems to have greater clarity about decision making. When Sancho leaves the inn in a hurry, it shows characterization when he displays determination to get what is owed to him, and the alacrity provides the reader with the appropriate method he should use when confronted with crossroads in life: to pick a path, stick with the journey until the end, but within conventional methods and choices. Sancho uses his mental capacity to think things through in order to build confidence, which adds an extra layer in the narrative. On the other hand, Don Quixote is determined to resume his adventures and win the heart of his love interest regardless of the opinion of others. Throughout the frame tale, metaphors from novels Quixote has read establishes his norms that also shape the psyche of many individuals. For Quixote, metaphors come to life as strangers he meets on his journeys. For example, Quixote wants to marry Dulcinea, but society states that males must be brave for their wives. Quixote's pursuits of love takes him on a journey filled with acts of bravery to prove his love for Dulcinea. Accompanied by Sancho, he forge battles with his thoughts of bravery, and strangers that lead to lessons each individual can apply to their lives.These lessons are entwined with desire, death, and rewards; if doctrines are followed. While Sancho would like his future reward to be swift so he can improve his lot, he also has to ensure his family continues to live noble lives. Don Quixote dies with longings as a result of his unconventional views toward marriage and bravery. His tensions remained dark throughout the novel with vast amounts of revolutionary choices, while providing the reader with alternate ways of viewing societal norms. On the other hand, Sancho's foibles are narrated as determination because he is narrated as the sidekick to the heroine that proved to be a deconstruction to chivalry. Goals and cognitive abilities assist the reader with various perspectives that exist in life and paths they may take. Expect the unexpected with Don Quixote and Sancho Panza because it is similar to choices one confronts on a daily basis. Sancho's decision making includes consulting with the moral values he learned from religious life, while Don Quixote encounters wide varieties of fictional books that became his psyche. Moreover, we encounter heroes from all walks of life who could be responsible for the different types of psychological breakthroughs that exist, while engaged in goal achievement, but individuals are ultimately responsible for their autonomy, the books they read, and how those novels influence their life.