Little Princes Essay Example for Free

Little Princes Essay If one were to take a survey and ask people around a single question like, â€Å"How was your day? † â€Å"Good†, can be the most popular answer one would hear in response. One would wonder how many of them, really had a satisfactory day. Many people like to stay comfortable in their daily routine and prefer not to change it. However, one can forget that every day and every second of today counts and leaves a mark for tomorrow. What makes the difference in moments are the ones who make it count. Mary Kay, a successful businessperson classifies people in three different categories: â€Å"Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. † Connor Grennan, the author and narrator of Little Princes, is a good example of a man making things to happen. In the beginning, the reader meets a less mature and self-centered Grennan. Despite the risk of joining a volunteer program during the country? s civil war, he searches for an adventure different from his routine life. The author? character transition throughout the book encourages readers to become a generation that makes things happen—a generation that expresses love, fuels hope, and dreams of a better tomorrow. Grennan? s attitude about volunteering changed as he faced reality in Nepal. In the beginning, the idea of volunteering seemed a perfect way to begin an adventure. His first thoughts about the volunteer service focused on making himself seem altruistic. With this experience, Grennan says that he â€Å"would squash any potential criticism†; he saw this planned three-month journey as his ticket to balance any other life decisions in the future. 7) Moreover, as we see him immerse in a different culture, Grennan? s strategy of survival urged him to become close to the families and embrace their culture. We see his character change as he expresses every experience from having his first meal based on rice and lentils and without using utensils, to learning a squat position to use the bathroom. Although it was only the beginning, we started to see a character that was willing to confront his barriers and come out of his comfort zone. His challenge arrived when he walked across the gate to the orphanage. Grennan became self-conscious of being well prepared and states that it â€Å"seemed ludicrous† to be a volunteer in the orphanage (Grennan 16). At that moment, he could not think of a skill in him when working with kids â€Å"other than the ability to pick up objects from the floor† (Grennan 16). He decided not to waste time wondering about the fact as he was already there. He compared his situation as if he were in Spain during the running of the bulls. This refers to what he does, must be done without over-thinking and reacting quickly. His first experience at the orphanage changed his assumptions about volunteer work. While Grennan continues to involve himself as a volunteer in Little Princes, we sense his expression of emotions, concerns, and joy with these orphans and the Nepalese community. He feels the pain they go through and takes them to the hospital. Grennan takes the word â€Å"brother† very seriously and behaves like a protective old brother to them. When he discovers the truth about the supposed orphans who are actually trafficked children, Grennan is heartbroken. As their ? older brother? , he is concerned for the kids. Later, he realizes that even the other volunteers have not taken any action to help the children. The readers start to see an emergence of leadership from Grennan. Grennan and his friend found a mother of two orphans; they reunited them to their mother as they planned trips to the town where she was staying. Meanwhile, Grennan found seven more kids living there with this mother and survived in extremely poor conditions. He wanted these seven kids to be in a safer place and there is where his mission began. In his first three-month period, he realizes these kids mean more to him. Grennan mentions, â€Å"If walking into the responsibility of caring for eighteen children was difficult, walking out on that responsibility was almost impossible†(p. 54) the meaning of this responsibility is that he wants the kids to get a better life. He cannot finish his work as a simple volunteer when he knows that these kids have a family. He commits himself to the promise of coming back for the children. Grennan becomes an example to these actions as he starts to look for a safer place for these kids. He knocks on every door for help and even he finds many corrupt situations as he digs into the story. When he finally thinks he has found an organization to rely on, everything becomes bad because Golkka, the trafficker finds about Grennan intentions and takes the kids away. In this situation, we see a character that not only tries but also lives with honor. Though he has failed to keep his promise the first time, he refuses to give up. Like in the beginning, he could have acted quickly and taken a plane back to Nepal but he realizes that this time he needed to plan and have a secure place for the kids. His only choice was to open an organization. Again, Grennan tells us about his lack of skills when he says, â€Å"I had no idea how to start a nonprofit organization† (p. 104). In this passage when Grennan recognizes his weaknesses we can identified to those times that we faced obstacles and fear of not knowing what to do. He sets an example to everyone as he becomes eagerly and attained to complete this mission. After some research and advice from his peers, he was able to start. Grennan mentions how desperate he was and how he could not sleep nor relax because the idea of the kids being in danger stressed him. The idea of rescuing the kids seemed like a dream at the beginning and became a challenge. Besides his mature character, we see a man who now acts selfless as he chooses to give himself to this purpose. It seemed ridiculous to him in the beginning because he thought he could have been spending time with friends and meeting girls. Then, Grennan realized that he is doing something that gives him meaning in his life. In the meantime, he has found real friends that encourage him. Connor Grennan reminds us that extraordinary things happen when we unite. Working together has helped and encouraged Connor to continue his nonprofit organization. He has his friend Farid, and finds other networks of friends that can help him economically and emotionally. During his time at home, Grennan gets attention from the media and manages to become a recognized organization. Thanks to a brave man like Connor Grennan, many kids have new lives. We see a man who is persistent, who constantly plans what his next move is. When he comes back to Nepal, every day he insists to look for the children. As he starts to find them, he feels satisfied and happy for the kids. When hard times come, he has his friend Liz who is now a companion. She gives him messages of hope and love. When he goes to the mountains to go look for the families of the children in Little Princes he gets hurt and in poor conditions to continue. Anyone who reads Little Princes, reflects at this point that Connor gives himself in this mission as he continues regardless of his illness. This part of the book is the most touching one as we experience victory when finding the families. Many of the challenges Grennan faced during this journey, allowed his personality to grow and become a responsible human being. Connor sends a more profound message to the people around him. His message to today’s generation is to start being compassionate about stopping corruption and injustice. Moreover, his message is for the coming generations to treasure every day and the people next to us. If there is something that can be challenging but can make a better person, situation, or society, he encourage us to try and do not give up. Grennan story tells us that one can have the whole world against us but when you know that you are capable of pressing forward or have somebody to believe in you, change can happen.