I am going to preface this post by explaining that this one is going to be a little different. From the start, I intended for this blog to focus on fashion and lifestyle. In my opinion, part of someone’s lifestyle involves how they take care of their brain, and reading is one of the best ways to exercise your brain, take in new ideas, and broaden your horizons. Because I find this to be such an important topic, I have allocated a spot on my blog to write about the books I have read and share my thoughts about them, for I firmly believe that literature is one of the most powerful forms of media that is (sadly) often overlooked due to our increasing dependency on the Internet.
Although I have been an active reader for most of my life, I will admit that the hectic schedule of school has torn me away from reading on my own during the school year. I have always found television to be how I decompress at the end of a stressful day, and I often fall asleep watching Friends. Guilty of choosing my television over a good, old fashioned book, I rediscovered my love of reading with a book assigned in one of my classes at UCLA.
During the fall quarter, I took a class called The Holocaust in Film and Literature. Originally, I enrolled in the course because it satisfied my philosophical and linguistic analysis requirement to graduate. However, I did not expect to finish the quarter feeling that it is probably one of my favorite classes I have taken at UCLA so far. There are universal lessons that can be taken away from that part of history regarding the way we live our lives. These lessons led me to a renewed love and appreciation for many aspects of my own life.
One of the books we read as part of the class was All The Things I Never Told My Fatherby Yona Nadelman, an engaging memoir about the Holocaust through the eyes of a child. Through the book, Nadelman recounts her memories of the war and details how it affected her life. Captivating the reader, she describes her experiences of being separated from family members, changing her identity, and living through war and persecution as a young child. I’ll spare you all the details because I want you to read it for yourselves (trust me it’s worth it!), but her story is one of courage and hope that is utterly inspiring.
I had the pleasure of meeting with the author on a Friday morning as part of my class. This was my first time meeting a Holocaust survivor, and it will be one of the more impactful moments of my life. I am part of the last generation that is likely able to speak to survivors and hear their stories. The perpetuation of their memories is vital to understanding history. Being able to put a face to the words and story on the pages was such an impactful experience that I will never forget.
So what is my take-away from this book and my encounter with Yona Nadelman herself? I can only hope I have a fraction of the amount of courage she has. We ought to live our lives as best we can: work hard, play hard, love those around you, appreciate all of life’s opportunities. We are often stronger than we think we are and more capable of accomplishing our goals than we believe.
xx
Emily
