A Great Perhaps

            I’ll be the first to admit that I am a self-proclaimed book nerd. There’s something just so comforting in holding a book in my hands and turning the pages to learn more about the characters that you become attached to, rather than using an Ipad or kindle. Reading has always been some sort of an escape for me and over the past few months I’ve found myself captivated by book after book written by John Green.  If you haven’t gotten a chance to read any of his work I highly suggest The Fault in our Stars , Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska.

I recently finished Looking for Alaska, and while all of his work leaves the reader wanting more, this book in particular hit close to home. This book follows a main character looking for his “Great Perhaps” and in doing so finds himself on a journey of discovering himself while looking for explanations for unanswered questions concerning a friend. (Yes, I know that’s very vague but I really don’t want to ruin it for anyone who does choose to read it). I finished this book thinking mostly about my journey for a “Great Perhaps” and a quote that I found especially interesting at the end of the book (I’ll get to that in a bit) and just how much many of us 2O-somethings can relate.

When I first read about the “Great Perhaps” it peaked my interest immediately because many of us who are navigating through our twenty’s are on this journey too. Personally, I’ve discussed my struggle with this awkward limbo between college and “adulthood” but I had never had a label for how I truly felt. The “Great Perhaps” is that label I was looking for. I am 22 years old and still wandering aimlessly into my Great Perhaps. I have no idea where I am going to end up or what I will ultimately do, but I crave adventure and new experiences. I find myself constantly pushing others into following their dreams and making their ideas into reality, so why have I not taken my own advice? I’m starting to think that it’s because I find my Great Perhaps to be a bit intimidating. It’s hard when you’re a planner, like I am, to not have a plan, but I am starting to realize that maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be.  Maybe my Great Perhaps is really a sign to find myself.

John Green also leaves his reader with a quote that I found inspiring and comforting.

 It read:

            “When adults say, "Teenagers think they are invincible" with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail.”

The fear of failing is one of the main reasons many of us neglect to do things that would make us happy. This isn’t something new, many of us have known this for a very long time. But what John Green was capable of doing was putting into words what many of us, including myself, need to hear. We can’t be broken and because of that we can not fail. So why let fear of losing or failing prevent any of us from following our dreams?

Here’s to finding out what your Great Perhaps may be and not letting fear hold any of you back.