Ryan Hayes Writing Minor
The book Into The Wild, might be the most personally impactful piece of literature I've ever read. The life of Chris McCandles acts a cautionary tale of Ego, a parable for true happiness and a testament of self-discovery. Chris was an honors student at Emory University and had nearly 40,000 dollars of savings that his successful parents had gifted to him to pave the way for his future. But Chris strayed from expectations and left. He donated his money to charity, ran away and changed his name, Alexander Supertramp.
He believed that a man could only be measured when you removed all the outside factors in his life: peers, perception and money. He believed that "Chris" was merely a construct of society's image of himself, and that his new identity was essentially for the ultimatum of self-inspection. Alex ventured across the country, meeting a variety of new friends but never accepted friendship and never stopped. His journey eventually took him to the last frontier, Alaska. Alex entered the uncharted land with a small amount of supplies to test himself as a person and to appease his Ego.
After several weeks of surviving off the land living in an abandoned bus, Alex falls ill from a poisonous berry. As death becomes sure, Alex adds to his journal one of his final thoughts "Happiness Only Real When Shared" signing with his true name, Chris McCandles.
The end cap of his epic journey left me inspired. Let me clarify, I don't want to run away. I don't want to change my name. But I am inspired by Chris's courage and comforted by his conclusion. I think that as a person, my ability to have a unique perspective, to see life through an empathetic lens, is necessary. Others should not craft my uniqueness; it should be true. If I were to be left in the wild, I wish that I would be the same as I am now. Mostly, however, it’s his conclusion, "Happiness Only Real When Shared" that leaves me smiling. After being on his own, after experiencing life to the fullest, Chris realized that experience and joy doesn't mean anything unless it's reciprocated. This story has inspired me to live a life that's equally fulfilling and unique, while not sacrificing at the expense of sharing my experience with those I care about.