Introduction
It is very rarely that a story could have an effect on the reader. This is why I am thankful that I encountered Wendy Mass’ “Every Soul a Star.” As I read though the story, I was able to relate to the experiences of the main characters. Being a young person I also meet challenges where I need to change. The story gives its readers important insights on how important and inevitable change is. In the story, three young people went through life changing experiences in a place called Moon Shadow Campground.
Discussion
The Moon Shadow Campground is a place where campers go to do astronomical research. Aside from tools that are used in astronomy studies, it also has “Unusuals.” The Unusuals are places or areas in the Moon Shadow Campground which were established to entertain the guest while they are at the camp. Nevertheless, in the context of the novel, it is implied that the Unusuals are meant help the campers contemplate about their lives. For example, the Art House allows the campers to paint not necessarily what they seen but what they feel or understand about what they have experienced in the camp. Hence, the Art House and the other Unusuals allow campers to undergo self-reflection, which ultimately make their stay in the camp more meaningful. Nevertheless, while each of the Unusuals could provide each camper a life changing experience, campers like Bree do not always want to go to them. In the story, Bree resisted walking the labyrinth for so long. The reason for this is that she was stuck at looking at her modeling book. In other words the usual life of campers may hinder them in enjoying the life changing experiences that the Unusuals have to offer. Nevertheless, there are forces in our lives that can help us walk such labyrinth. In Bree’s case, it was her homesickness or her desire to be with his family and she asked questions of what she really wants to be that made her walk through the labyrinth.
As I ponder on Bree’s experience in the labyrinth, I thought to myself that, if I were given the chance to walk through the same labyrinth and find answers, I would ask what my real purpose in life is. Unlike Bree and the rest of the main characters, I really do not have a concrete plan. I always stay by the motto, “I’ll cross the bridge when I get there.” Hence, I study because I was given the chance to study and not for some very important reason. I realized that I am light-minded, which means that I do not take things as serious as my peers do. I want to change this attitude, and I think walking through Ally’s labyrinth would help me achieve such change. It is change that I wish to receive from the labyrinth.
Luckily for Bree, she was able to realize the change in his life. That life changing moment, perhaps, happened when she looked through the telescope and liked what she saw. She noted that her “inner geek has been released” (Mass, 2008, p.235). It should be noted that she wanted to become a model, initially. Being a model is something she thought she wanted to do all her life, which is the reason why she hated going to the campground. Nevertheless, her walk through the labyrinth and her experience of looking through the telescope change that perspective – she began to love science, particularly, astronomy.
Another interesting character in the story is Jack. It was noted in the story that Jack never wanted to leave the Moon Shadow Campground. Upon reflecting on the possible reasons for this, it came to me that there were also times in my life that I never wanted to say goodbye to a certain place or person. In my case, I never wanted to leave my country because I was enjoying my stay there. I never wanted to go back to school where I would be forced to study too many things. Perhaps this is also the reason why Jack did not want to go out of the campground anymore. He was afraid of responsibilities and another change in his life.
It should be noted that all three main characters – Ally, Bree, and Jack – have undergone changes in their respective life perspectives when they met at the camp. The pinnacle of their respective life changing moments was, perhaps, the eclipse. In my opinion, the reason for this timing is, that total solar eclipses are so rare and special. They are so rare that a person might only see one in his or her lifetime. It is this rareness of the event that makes it so special. I should note that I have never seen a total solar eclipse yet, that is why I would travel the world just to see one. Fortunately, NASA (2016) predicts a solar total eclipse in 21 August 2017 and it will be visible at North America and East Asia. Unfortunately, there is no total solar eclipse that will be visible in my country, United Arab Emirates within the next 20 years, so I would have to travel to see the total solar eclipse happening in 2017. Nevertheless, upon reflecting on the story, I realized that the solar eclipse was special in the sense that it could represent the sudden changes in one’s life. A During a total solar eclipse the sun disappears turning day into night in a very short period of time. My purpose for emphasizing this is to make us realize that we all have our eclipses – the sudden changes in our lives. We must not fear changes; instead, we should be vigilant to press forward to becoming a better person. Our lives’ eclipses are opportunities for positive change.
I and many international students experiences eclipses or changes almost regularly. One of the hardest changes that I had to undergo was going here in the United States to study. One of the main reasons the change is hard is because the culture of my country is very different compared to the culture in the US (Mustaffa, Che Su & Ilias, 2013). The people are also very different in what they usually do. Nevertheless, just like what happened in the story, I have managed to adjust to cope with the changes in my life in the US. I am thankful for the changes that I have undergone through. These changes have given me wisdom and knowledge on how to mingle properly with different kinds of people coming from different social, economic, and cultural background. Truly, the US is a melting pot of culture, and it is this diversity in culture that makes it a perfect place for change (de Araujo, 2011). It is like the Moon Shadow Campground. Lastly, changes are inevitable and they are there to help us become better, allowing every soul to be as the stars.
Conclusion
Everything in the world changes and we have to cope with such changes if we want to make our lives meaningful. Wendy Mass’ “Every Soul a Star” provides an inspiration and an example for students such as I to maintain a positive outlook on change. All in all, I can say that the book has influenced my desire to study astronomy as well as my desire to change for the better.
References
de Araujo, Abrahao Andre (2011). Adjustment Issues of International Students Enrolled in American Colleges and Universities: A Review of the Literature. Higher Education Studies, 1(1), pp. 1 – 8.
Mass, Wendy (2008). Every Soul a Star. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
Mustaffa, Che Su and Ilias, Munirah (2013). Relationship between Students Adjustment Factors and Cross Cultural Adjustment: A Survey at the Northern University of Malaysia. Intercultural Communication Studies XXII(1), pp. 279 - 297
NASA (2016). Solar Eclipses: Past and Future. Retrieved from: <http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html>.
