A Hope in the Unseen Essay
Everyone experiences something in their lives that will alter them forever. Sometimes the change is really unambiguous, other times you won’t really reflect upon the change as much. Over the summer I read two novels, “A Hope in the Unseen” by Ron Suskind, and Answering the Call, by Ron Ralph Corrigan, they are both stories about how people can change their lives through different experiences. In “A Hope in the Unseen” the main character, Cedric, goes through life-altering experiences to help him develop. While in “Answering the Call” they go through positive experiences to help them grow as people.
In Ron Suskind’s novel, “Answering the Call,” he describes the journey of Cedric Jennings from being an adolescent and confused high school boy to college. As a lot of teens, college life for Cedric was a really scary transition from the life that he had once lived, in down town Washington D.C. Cedric is an extremely determinated teen. Cedric remains much focused on his studies throughout all of his conflicts. He was a very strong person who would not give into the pressures of everyday teenage life. I respect him a great deal because of his discipline. Although he is so disciplined, his manner doesn’t help him in school. He comes off as an ignorant person because he isn’t open to the new diverse surroundings that he has to live in.
Although Cedric is very ignorant, his attitude is very different and unique at the same time. He isn’t willing to permit himself to give into the atmosphere of college, for instance, drinking and going out at night. He has a much pressured town to live in. His town consists of people with occupations such as drug dealing. He is afraid to walk down the street because there is a chance he could get shot or beaten up just because he is smart and actually cares about school. It is extremely hard to stay focused and get good grades in that vicinity. Cedric is very determinated to remain focused on his schoolwork, and doesn’t allow him self to be distracted by these people who are going no where in life. This is a quality that not many people have. His disciplined study habits are something that helps him to be a stronger person. This determination separates him very much from his classmates. The part of the novel that I found most inspiring was when Cedric was standing in front of his whole graduation class, delivering his salutation speech. He told his community how he really felt about his whole experience at Ballou High School. He no longer was going to allow other peoples opinions affect the way he feels. He no longer would hold back anything that he felt.
After reading Answering the Call, my perspective of college has changed a lot. I appreciate a lot more the activities and services the school holds for me. I also appreciate my parents being so generous and wanting me to get such a good education that they will pay for it, even if it means having to cut down a lot on other luxuries. I realized that I shouldn’t take for granted all of these things. I should take advantage of all these possibilities by helping myself. I know now that my school does have an impact on the surrounding areas, as well as areas such as El Salvador. I was most moved in this story when the university was able to complete the 30,000 hour project, not only complete it but actually exceed it. I can see myself helping out the community by joining Campus Ministry. Campus Ministry is a catholic organization that helps people. You go to retirement homes, you go to soup kitchens. It consists of a lot of community service and volunteer work. You’re doing the best you can to help people that need your help and it makes you feel very useful and better about yourself. By helping other people you might realize the real beauty of life. We should all volunteer our time, it would help a lot of people.
Both of these novels exemplify the different experiences that people experience through high school and college. From the everyday conflicts in “A Hope in the Unseen” to helping out others in “Answering the Call.” In both of these stories, we can all learn how experiences can alter your life in a positive and a negative way. Whether it is helping people and realizing the beauty in life or living through really tough times and rising up to be a stronger person, the experiences we all go through will shape us into the people we will be when we grow up.
In Ron Suskind’s novel, “Answering the Call,” he describes the journey of Cedric Jennings from being an adolescent and confused high school boy to college. As a lot of teens, college life for Cedric was a really scary transition from the life that he had once lived, in down town Washington D.C. Cedric is an extremely determinated teen. Cedric remains much focused on his studies throughout all of his conflicts. He was a very strong person who would not give into the pressures of everyday teenage life. I respect him a great deal because of his discipline. Although he is so disciplined, his manner doesn’t help him in school. He comes off as an ignorant person because he isn’t open to the new diverse surroundings that he has to live in.
Although Cedric is very ignorant, his attitude is very different and unique at the same time. He isn’t willing to permit himself to give into the atmosphere of college, for instance, drinking and going out at night. He has a much pressured town to live in. His town consists of people with occupations such as drug dealing. He is afraid to walk down the street because there is a chance he could get shot or beaten up just because he is smart and actually cares about school. It is extremely hard to stay focused and get good grades in that vicinity. Cedric is very determinated to remain focused on his schoolwork, and doesn’t allow him self to be distracted by these people who are going no where in life. This is a quality that not many people have. His disciplined study habits are something that helps him to be a stronger person. This determination separates him very much from his classmates. The part of the novel that I found most inspiring was when Cedric was standing in front of his whole graduation class, delivering his salutation speech. He told his community how he really felt about his whole experience at Ballou High School. He no longer was going to allow other peoples opinions affect the way he feels. He no longer would hold back anything that he felt.
After reading Answering the Call, my perspective of college has changed a lot. I appreciate a lot more the activities and services the school holds for me. I also appreciate my parents being so generous and wanting me to get such a good education that they will pay for it, even if it means having to cut down a lot on other luxuries. I realized that I shouldn’t take for granted all of these things. I should take advantage of all these possibilities by helping myself. I know now that my school does have an impact on the surrounding areas, as well as areas such as El Salvador. I was most moved in this story when the university was able to complete the 30,000 hour project, not only complete it but actually exceed it. I can see myself helping out the community by joining Campus Ministry. Campus Ministry is a catholic organization that helps people. You go to retirement homes, you go to soup kitchens. It consists of a lot of community service and volunteer work. You’re doing the best you can to help people that need your help and it makes you feel very useful and better about yourself. By helping other people you might realize the real beauty of life. We should all volunteer our time, it would help a lot of people.
Both of these novels exemplify the different experiences that people experience through high school and college. From the everyday conflicts in “A Hope in the Unseen” to helping out others in “Answering the Call.” In both of these stories, we can all learn how experiences can alter your life in a positive and a negative way. Whether it is helping people and realizing the beauty in life or living through really tough times and rising up to be a stronger person, the experiences we all go through will shape us into the people we will be when we grow up.
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