Oh The Little Things in Life...( That we never realize)

        Nothing is ever as it seems- especially our journeys in life. We expect to go one way, only to find discoveries in a corner we turn or boulders in the hills that we climb. For better or for worse, quests happen whether we like it or not; it's just how the process of life goes.
        As a rising Senior (17 years of age), I have come to terms with realizing that life is a series of steps; I could totally relate to Kip ( Foster's made up "quester"), dealing with acne problems, maintaining my social status, learning how to drive, and so on. It was interesting to come upon the fact that Foster mentioned younger people approaching quests, when in my opinion, everyone, no matter what age, goes through some type of quest; the only difference is that it isn't so sporadic as one gets older. Moreover, memories start to flow when I think of that normal school day (or so I thought), when I'm in class, only to be hit by a series of events that tumble over in an hour and thirty minutes.
       Ready? Okay here goes: I hand my assignment in ( Holy Grail) only to figure out that it wasn't the right one (The Dangerous Road)perhaps? Of course, I am the princess. The teacher who tells me that the assignment is wrong would probably be the Dragon, according to literary terms. The cutest guy in my class would be James ( My Prince), and last but not least, I would like to present the evil knight as my "used to be" best friend, Mary, who is purposely stealing James from me. So there you have it; a quest can be something as simple as one class, or it can be a whole day-Well at least that's from my perspective.
       A quest is really what you make of it. Of course it is going to have all the parts contributed but it is up to you what to include, just like the young woman, Foster mentioned from the novel The Crying of Lot 49 ; how you get out of the situation is totally up to how the contributing factors react, which is why " questers" my age always seem so surprised about their lives every two seconds. The beauty of all this is that we never realize it, which reminds me of the oblivious main character of Catcher in the Rye , Holden Caufield. Holden is a 16 year old boy who initially plans to finish this prestigious boarding school , but gets side tracked as he eventually fails school, decides to leave and faces all these detours as he tries to come home. As he makes his quest home, he comes across old professors, girlfriends, friends, and even surprise visitors, all of whom he does not expect. They all turn him down and he doesn't even plan on going home, until he gets sick that is. I thought this similarity was interesting and significant when Foster mentions that quests never turn out like the protagonist thinks is will, which is how all our lives are.
      All in all, just like Holden Caufield, we all go through quests, especially surprising ones, but how you come out of it is what matters. As Foster says, if you can get through it "..the rest is easy". So why not go on your quest? Just let it happen.