I recently finished the memoir “educated” by Tara Westover and it was a fascinating example of childhood conditioning and the subsequent creation of core beliefs that followed and plagued Tara throughout her young adult life. A quote in the book that I resonated with takes place between Tara and a professor who was instrumental in getting her accepted into a study abroad program at Cambridge in London (of which Tara does not feel worthy):
“You are not fool’s gold, shining only under a particular light. Whomever you become, whatever you make yourself into, that is who you always were. It was always in you. Not in Cambridge. In you. You are gold. And returning to BYU (Brigham Young University), or even to that mountain that you came from, will not change who you are. It may change how others see you, it may even change how you see yourself – even gold appears dull in some lighting – but that is illusion. And it always was.”
It takes Tara years to break away from the tenacious bonds of her upbringing and find a place for herself in the world. Educated by Tara Westover is a worthy read.
Photo credit: Me!
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That is so wise! It reminds me of another book, “We’ve had 100 years of psychotherapy and the world is getting worse” (yeah, I get the irony given our career choices) In a conversation format the authors talk about the concept that we are like acorns, whatever else may go on in our lives if we are an acorn we will be an oak tree….
Cool! Another book to add to my list 🙂 It really is so long, haha! Thanks Gurlie for your comment and feedback!