The Alchemist (Pages 1-47)

I believe that the payment that the gypsy woman asks Santiago for could be considered false hope because she does not know if the boy is going to find his treasure or not. The idea that she will get payed is not definite, however she still tells the boy what she thinks he needs to know. The payment that the old man receives is definite because the boy already payed him and the old man knows exactly what the boy is going to do. The boy knows why he payed the man, and he is obviously going to follow his path. The boy might not have followed his path if he was not sure that the information he received was correct, and the old man made the boy trust him by the things he showed him.

There have been a few times that I thought a price was too high to follow a certain ambition or dream that I desired with all of my heart to accomplish. The great thing about dreams is that they give back to you when you give all you have to them. I never give up on my dreams and I understand that no matter how high the price is, dreams are worth it. If there is something that you desire more than anything else, there is no reason not to try to obtain it. If there is something that you say you would do anything for, don't just say that, do it. There have been many times when I thought a certain dream was not worth the trouble that I was putting into it, but now I see that I did do the right thing by not letting my dreams escape me.

One dream that I had when I was younger was to help all animals and flowers be healthy. The sacrifice I made for this dream was my friends. I never spent any time with other people because I was always so busy helping puppies without a mother or flowers with brown leaves. I tried as hard as I could to help every living thing that I came across. I gave up having friends when I was little so I could accomplish this dream. The dream gave back to me because I was rewarded with all the beautiful life around me. I was able to sit and stare at the petals of flowers on a plant, and be fascinated, because I was the one that saved it. As I got older, I was able to manage more things, so not only was I able to help nature, but I gained friends, as well.

No matter what your dream is, there is no price too high. No one should give up on their dreams because they decide not to work for them. Everyone is able to accomplish their dreams some way or another. The only tricky part of the process is finding ways to accomplish the dreams. People complain because their dreams are so hard to accomplish, but if they are going to complain about the work, then they should not complain that they do not accomplish their dreams.