As a Chinese Canadian, Journey to the West, a well-known Asian fantasy novel, is etched into my mind as the peak whimsical adventure. Filled with lessons and peril, the story details the expedition of the monk Xuanzang and his entourage of eccentric characters on their adventure to retrieve the sacred Buddhist text from Western Asia. From childhood, these characters stood out to me with their unique appearances, abilities, and backstories. These characters continue to help me today, acting as metaphors on my journey to AEO.
Known for his playful, brave, and proud nature, Sun Wukong has perhaps the biggest role in this novel. Starting as naïve but confident monkey who had learnt supernatural powers, Sun Wukong rebelled against heaven, which later resulted in his punishment. After hundreds of years, and self-reflection, he was appointed as a disciple of Xuanzang as a companion for his journey. To me, Wukong represents self-improvement and growth whilst never losing his lively personality. These qualities of his are important lessons to anyone looking for success in applying to AEO. By embracing our past mistakes, perhaps from our own flaws of arrogance, selfishness, and naivety; we can reflect and grow. By maintaining an open mind to personal development, I’ve been able to develop better communication, critical thinking, and empathy, which acted as crucial traits on my journey to AEO.
Another beloved character of Xuanzang’s crew is the former barbarian Sha Wujing, who later became the caring, loyal, and selfless character that many times held the group together. Wujing exhibits these traits all throughout his journey with Xuanzang, constantly being protective of his friends and willing to lend a helping hand to anyone. These are characteristics I believe we all naturally possess, and by applying them to our everyday lives we can, like Wujing, not only help our close family and friends, but also those in the community! On my journey to becoming an AEO student, a big part of my life was practicing these kind-hearted traits through volunteerism and community involvement. From grade 10, I became an active volunteer in local senior homes. Every week, I would serve and transport seniors to recreational activities and other events. I believe that by bringing my friendliness and happiness to my interactions with them, I was able to truly contribute something to my community rather than treating it as another “volunteer experience.” By remaining true to my willingness to help others, my many service roles played an imperative part in my successful AEO journey.
Last but not least, the legendary monk Tang Xuanzang was chosen by the Buddha to embark on this journey because of his all-around amazing personal qualities. Not only is he caring and kind, Xuanzang is also very knowledgeable, gentle, composed, and possesses many other traits that makes him a character that everyone can learn from. One of his well-known features is his patience and dedication. Being patient is often very difficult, but Xuanzang taught me that through cultivating this trait, I can enjoy life much easier. That not everything good will come at once, but hard work will pay off. Like the arduous process of university applications in high school, I was too eager for the results, and this only made my life stressful. And only afterwards I realized that by “thinking like a monk,” I could’ve lived this time period more relaxed, because no matter how long it took, what is meant to come will come eventually and no amount of stress could have changed that. Once my application had been turned in, the results were already decided and the only thing to do was to be patient. However, what gave me my successful results were my years of prior dedication. Like Xuanzang’s dedication to his spiritual goal, my dedication to working towards achieving AEO made it possible.
In the end, Xuanzang and his entourage never gave up: they charged through turmoil, took on all the monsters that blocked their way, and eventually attained the sacred texts. Each character of the group had their own flaws and strengths, and inspired by them, I was able to embrace my inner Sun Wukong, Sha Wujing, and even Tang Xuanzang which successfully aided me in becoming one step closer to my goal of attending Ivey.