“A person either loves or hates Slaughterhouse-Five, and you, I think you are going to hate it.” That is how I was introduced to the book by my ever so enthusiastic eleventh-grade English teacher. The disclaimer to the required-reading book was not the warm invite I was hoping for, but I was willing to agree with him that I would, indeed, hate the book. I even went as far as posting on social media that evening about how I could hardly wait to dive into this book [insert sarcasm here]. I had no intentions of remotely enjoying Slaughterhouse-Five, and with a title like that, who could blame me? I was quick to judge, but as quickly as I judged, I unexpectedly fell in love with the story. The old saying rang true for me; you cannot judge a book by its cover (or title). Within pages of beginning, I was pulled into a literary realm I had never discovered. There was something about the unrealistic encounters that seems to hold such a real meaning. This unlikely personal pick of reading material provided me the opportunity to explore literature beyond the confines of a narrow mind. The idea that we could live an apparently complete life and only see a fraction of it in a lifetime sparked something in me. I got to thinking that, if given the opportunity to take a step out of my life to view my actions in a new perspective, would I be happy with what I saw? What did I miss in my life along the way? Would I have done something differently? These rhetorical questions scroll through my mind once in a while, and at these times, I am taking an active role in my accountability to myself. Going through a goal-driven and dream-chasing life, I can be blind to life on the periphery. There is a good chance I have missed moments that I could have found joy in or oversaw a lesson that could have been powerful. Having the chance to actually view my life outside of it probably will never happen the same way as it did for Billy Pilgrim, and maybe that is a good thing. I honestly do not think a Tralfamadorean encounter is the most believable thing on earth to have to explain. Nonetheless, I can create my own chance to analyze the reel of my life. For everything that happens in life, there is a meaning behind it. The meaning of an event happening or not happening may not presently be available, but at one point or another, the meaning will appear. Whether it makes sense is another discussion, but the very discussion we owe ourselves to answer the what ifs and why nots in life. We get lost in the fantasies of life to ignore the realities. Our perception could keep us from understanding the ironic meanings of life. It excites me to meet the time to find myself unstuck in life’s irony of sorts. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2016
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