For those of you who don't know me, I love to read. I guess it started because my mom used to trick me and tell me I had to read twenty books over the summer and write book reports on all of them. Even though this rule might've been my younger brother's demise, I loved it… and it kinda stuck. Now, people, mostly just my dad, buy me books for special occasions. For Christmas three years ago, my dad bought me "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. He said he remembered reading it when he was younger and that I should give it a try.

Life gets busy, and I had so many other books to read that "The Alchemist" did not leave my bookshelf for a while. My dad had just reread it and could not stop raving about it. Maybe it was the fact that my dad's favorite books are historical encounters and biographies, his suggestion to read it was not the push I needed. I do not remember what book it was, but I had just finished a long, relatively boring book and wanted to read something quick to read while on vacation that summer. I grabbed a couple smaller books from my shelf, one being "The Alchemist", and promised myself I would finally read it.

Without giving too much away, the story is about a young shepherd named Santiago who has a recurring dream about finding treasure. After meeting with some important people, he begins his "Personal Legend", to find what his true purpose in life is. He begins to follow omens, both positive and negative, that test how bad he wants to succeed. Santiago starts to understand the world around him in a deeper way and listen to his heart with an open mind. This story is about persistence, hardships, love, adapting, our connection to nature, the language of the universe, and much more. One of my favorite quotes from this philosophical and inspiring story is found on page 27. This quote really stuck with me and helps me to look at both positive and negative situations in a different light. Good things and bad things come to us in the same way, whether we realize that or not:

Treasure is uncovered by the force of flowing water, and it is buried by the same currents.

After reading this book once, I could not get it out of my head. Two years later, I decided to read it again and found even more meaning within the same story. "The Alchemist" is one of those books that you can read during various stages in your life and get something different out of it each time. It is completely timeless and does not get old.

As a person who I constantly anxious about time passing and what the future holds, reading this book a second time made me find this quote (on page 106) even more important:

The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it, under extraordinary circumstances. How do I guess at the future? Based on omens of the present. The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better.

Ultimately, I recommend this book to anyone. "The Alchemist" is more than just a story, it is a lifestyle that everyone should keep close to their heart.