"I like to be a free spirit. Some don't like that, but that's the way I am." - Princess Diana

Monday, November 21, 2011

Don't Judge Person Before You Know Them

Authors Note: This piece was created to explain and share my thoughts on the book "Safe Haven" by Nicholas Sparks. This paper explains details about the book and offers my opinion and the connections I made when I was reading this book.


 She is so beautiful, tall, pretty, vibrant, but also very mysterious. She looks like she has a huge secret to share but, no one to share it with. You can see it in her eyes, that hurt and discomfort. That shame and sadness, that looks like she needs to break free. This is Katie.
In Nicholas Sparks latest novel “Safe Haven”, it tells the story of a beautiful woman with a dark past, who has landed her self in Southport, NC. She lives in a small cottage with little money and a little paying job. Her life in the story isn’t really something that I can personally relate to but, it was a very interest story line that I got me intrigued to keep reading. It seems like she was doing the best with what she had and she never complained. Katie just keeps living like nothing is wrong but you can see it in he eyes that she is hiding something. That’s exactly what Alex thinks.
Alex is a widowed store owner with two children and has also become friends with Katie. As they become friends Katie lets her guard down and trusts Alex. That was the right choice because Alex becomes a trustworthy boyfriend for Katie. He makes her more comfortable and open which is good for Katie. I don’t think she felt safe before and her insecurities kept her sheltered from the outside world. Her trusting him, made her trust him with her past. I could relate to this part of the book because I know how it feels to trust someone with your unforgettable past. Its not so easy sharing those details with someone and some times people forget that. Katie didn't, because she knew it had to be shared.
This is the main part of the book that I could relate to and that’s why I kept reading to see what happens. I am so intrigued in book that I can relate to otherwise I’m reading about stuff that I feel couldn't ever happen to me or hasn’t happened yet. I still could see where she is coming from either way though. She was in a bad place and she needed to get out. We both escaped to a better place and a better world. It has made us both better people within ourselves. Now I didn’t literally escape like she did in the book but switching schools unannounced is somewhat escaping. We both escaped from those worlds. Now in the book her past comes back to haunt her and someone unexpected comes 
The biggest lesson I learned in the book was that we need to realize how lucky our lives are. Realizing how valuable life is because it can all be messed up just like that. Katie had this big secret to share, but no one to share it with. This part hit me the most because I can relate the most to this. This book was amazing and I learned a lot about life. This book shows you that you can't judge a person by the way they look or who they were. You know them by the person they are today and the person they can be tomorrow.