Thankful

One of my first college classes called Connections (worth 2 credits) requires that during the summer we read a book and write a brief essay. The book we were asked to read is called The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba. Now I usually hate reading, but this summer after reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs ( a really great book, btw) I decided I wanted to get myself to enjoy reading books again. So, because of this goal, reading this book for college has been enjoyable and it has allowed me to really ponder upon my own life. 

This true story is about a young boy, William Kamkwamba (the author) who was born and raised in Malawi and decides to place a windmill in his village so that people can enjoy running water and electricity, a luxury not enjoyed by many people in Malawi. I'm only about 120 pages into the book and it truly makes me thankful for my own life and what I have been blessed with. I'm currently at this point in the book where William is talking about the suffering that has existed within his village for quite some time because people cannot afford to get the food they need. People are starving. In his village, many people live off of maize (corn) and the drought that had existed for so long led to a bad harvest and the price of maize (that could be purchased) has increased significantly making it impossible for many villagers to afford it. At this point people are doing every possible thing they can to survive. Because people are starving they become unhappy and they can't accomplish all of their daily tasks as easily. William talks of Christmas not being as exciting as it always has been one year because they couldn't have the "Christmas meat" or meal they normally have on Christmas. So, he and his cousin go out and find some animal skins that they boil and then eat (that doesn't sound so tasty to me). 

Reading this book has just made me realize how truly thankful I am to have been born into a family where we can look forward to a meal at breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday, unlike William who had to go without breakfast and lunch during a period in his life because his family could only afford to put just dinner on the table. I feel that at times I take what I have been blessed with for granted and it's so easy to because the life I currently live is all I've ever known. I'm truly thankful for my family and love them very much and I'm so grateful that they're such a big part of my life. I'm definitely not perfect, but I try my best to be a good daughter. I certainly have my days where I say things I don't mean, but I truly love my parents and all that they do for myself and my siblings! This book has just taught me so far how important it is to be thankful for what you have whether it be great or small.

Me and my siblings :)

My lovely parents! :)