Wanderlust

In the memoir “Educated” by Tara Westover, I can draw a very similar connection between the thoughts and feelings of Tara and myself.

In chapter eight, Tara writes about how even at only eleven years old, she was dissatisfied with the way she and her family were living. She expresses that she “wanted to get away from the junkyard and there was only one way to do that, which was the way Audrey had done it: by getting a job” (Westover 76). Already you can see her determination throughout the chapter she picks up jobs babysitting and packing cashews to make a steady income.

I have the same excitement to travel and see the world outside of this little bubble we call home. I absolutely agree and understand how she wants to explore and see more than just , in her case, the junkyard. These rules of being tied to one place, one schedule, one life, only causes our hunger for exploration to rage. People who have this wanderlust want to travel and explore to be able to live their lives to the fullest. In her memoir, Tara is also under a very strict household, I definitely don’t have as strict a family as her, but I totally understand the ten-thousand rules kind of thing .

This connection between Tara and I is something that helps me think in her shoes. A lot of times I have thought, “there’s no way they could be any more strict” and now, reading this memoir, I can see that it can most definitely be worse, and I’m grateful I don’t have it this rough.

This text brings up the question, is there a specific way we should be living our lives? We all know the easy stuff like “don’t break the law” and “go to school” but should we all be thinking one specific way? Or would that be our downfall? Is it better to all think the same or to run rampant with ideas and opinions? I know for me the answers to these questions is very simple; our ideas make us individual, we need our ideas and opinions to keep us the way we are, unique.