Before reading Pride and Prejudice and The Stranger, my perception of others was really one-dimensional; I operated under the assumption that what you saw was what you got. If someone was quiet, they were just… quiet, and that was the end of it. This mindset meant I rarely went out of my way to connect with people (lol), especially if they didn’t immediately align with my expectations. As college approaches, I knew I needed to change this approach, but I wasn’t sure how. These two books, despite their huge differences, fundamentally altered my perspective, showing me that human interaction is far more complex than I ever realized.

Pride and Prejudice was the first to dismantle my simplistic views. I remember feeling intense frustration with Mr. Darcy’s initial arrogance, particularly his condescending behavior at the Meryton ball where he insulted Elizabeth. In real life, I would have immediately written him off as an insufferable, annoying jerk. However, as the book unfolded, I witnessed his transformation, spurred by his revealing letter and Elizabeth’s own evolving understanding. That moment when Elizebeth re-reads the letter and reevaluates her own judgements of both Darcy and Whickham was a stark revelation for me. It wasn’t just about the story; it was about my own tendency to make snap judgments and miss the deeper, complex motivations behind people’s actions.

When I reflected The Stranger, it was even more challenging, yet equally profound shift in my thinking. Meursault’s emotional detachments initially baffled me; I kept expecting him to display some human emotion or undergo a dramatic change of heart. He doesn’t. Yet, his indifference, rather than alienating me, forced me to question what “normal” emotions even are. I started to wonder how many times I might have dismissed someone as… odd when perhaps they were simply experiencing the world in a way I couldn’t grasp, or their struggles were internal and not outwardly expressed. The scene where Marie asks if he loves her, and he responds that it “doesn’t mean anything” was particularly impactful. It wasn’t necessarily that he felt nothing, but that his feelings didn’t conform to societal expectations. This realization will push me to approach new interactions in college with much greater openness. I understand now that being genuinely social isn’t about finding people who mirror me, but about engaging with the messy, multifaceted, and sometimes inexplicable inner lives of everyone I encounter.

Thank you so much for the wonderful year!