Mallory McDonald

What I really love about writing is when text on a page becomes more than that, when it makes you look at the entire world and your entire life differently. Last week I finished reading A House in the Sky and I can honestly say I will be changed forever.

I recommend the book to everyone. It is the memoir of Amanda Lindhout and tells the horrific story of her kidnapping in Somalia. I won’t say more, because you should just read it. The book has inspired me to donate to the non-profit she started after her release, watch countless YouTube videos of her, and to read Nigel’s book so I can finally decide if I like him or not.

But, it also inspired something else. I know I am guilty of thinking I know everything, that I have the world figured out. I’m guilty of thinking that I’ve seen it all, that I’ve been through enough to be worldly and cultured, but this book makes me realize how very little I know and how very little I have actually seen. The world is huge and complicated and disgusting and all at the same time beautiful and loving.

Over the weekend I was having a conversation with a friend and he was asking me about my beliefs. It’s no secret that I am Catholic and that I wholeheartedly believe that I am in the one true religion. With that being said, I have the utmost respect and interest in all religions and belief sets. But, my friend was asking me questions and I said I thought that we are all products of our environment. Not necessarily always and not necessarily fully. We can change or do the opposite or make our own path. But, my point in saying this was I don’t think that if I were born in Somalia I would still be Catholic. At least I can never know for sure. I would guess I would be wholeheartedly practicing Islam. And I think at the end of the day, the good people of this world, we are all just trying to do the best we can. Whatever that means. At the end of the day we all have human dignity and maybe that is the only thing that ties us together, but it’s something.

Of course this is idealistic and romantic and maybe not practical. And, of course there is evil in this world. But, I’m not talking about those people. I’m talking about the people in the world who just make different choices than I would.

There is nothing more overwhelming, useless, fun, and interesting than trying to answer or solve all of life’s questions and problems. Yet that’s what I found myself doing after reading A House in the Sky.

I think about what I want out of life and what difference any of it will make. I’ve always said I want to change the world with my words. I’ve always said I want to help people. Hopefully, one day I will find a career that allows for all my interests. But, until then I’ll start with just reading.

I’m also reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise. The two books have given me the perfect combination of eloquently written sentences for my English nerd side and third world country reporting and adventure for my journalistic curious side.

I don’t have anything else to report, so until next time…and I’ll leave you with a F. Scott Fitzgerald quote, “For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.”