In Search Of April Raintree Essay

One would say in life you should always peruse your passion, you should know what is truly important and also to live with compassion. In the novel “In Search of April Raintree” Cheryl, April’s younger sister did just that. In general people usually never see things as they are, most of the time they see them as they like to ‘think’ about it. Cheryl always had the ability to do see things as they were regardless of the many obstacles she faced. As a young child, despite the fact that her parents lost custody of her and her sister April to social services, Cheryl had much enthusiasm towards her life. The fact that April and Cheryl went to different foster homes played a very important factor in the girls’ attitudes growing up and how they both …show more content…
Cheryl always had a way of communicating with her sister April in such a way that she had a sense of importance in everything she said. “Life is what you make it. We made our lives good. It wasn’t always easy, but we did make it.” (p.110) Cheryl always knew what was important to her and what she wanted to stand up for. A person that knows what is truly important in life knows how they feel about themselves. Knowing how to love and accept yourself plays a very important role in a person’s identity and self-worth. Any great leader would say that they got to where they are in their life by setting goals for themselves, having a sense of purpose, and self-esteem is key. If these things are not present in one’s life then one cannot succeed. April always knew what was important, yet had a hard time voicing who she truly was. This makes it difficult for someone to live a happy successful life when you can only point out the negatives in your heritage. Cheryl says to April, “How the hell would you know how they live? You wouldn’t go near them if your life depended on it. Who are you to sit around up here in your fancy surroundings and judge a people you don’t even know …show more content…
If Cheryl had overcome her anger and resentment she had for her sister April, conditions would have went differently and Cheryl would not have sacrificed her life. April however, will learn the true meaning of life as her story lives on with her nephew Henry Lee. “Cheryl had died. But for Henry Lee and me, there would be a tomorrow (p.228).” It was a shame that it took a fatality for April to accept her identity and to genuinely accept herself for who she was. One should always love their individuality and accept who they are for what they are and never be ashamed of where they come from. If April would have accepted herself and who she was Cheryl wouldn’t have felt the need to justify herself to search for who she was. In life it is a process of finding oneself, where we want to be and where we want to end up. If we walk around this earth with a blind fold on, not ever knowing what our true potential is then we may never know what the true meaning of life is. In the novel “In Search of April Raintree”, April’s search of her existence and finding her meaning of life lives