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By: Elise Moran
Things that have inspired me recently have been books. I have read fantasy all the way to memoirs and I have to say I love them all! Although each book tends to have and provide a different purpose for my life.
I will start with my absolute favorite series in the genre of fantasy: The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassie Clare. I fell in love with this series through friends, as the best books always come from suggestions. This series, although less educational than others of course, taught me a lot about close knit friendships, loyalty, and the power of family. At the time I was reading this series was the end of middle school and beginning of high school. I knew not at the time, but soon after that it was so important that I read that book and that series. It instilled in me the importance of close friendships and loyalty to your loved ones. I always had friends but had a lot of trouble being vulnerable. This book showed how people trauma bonded and were able to be vulnerable to completely trust the person they were with. Subconsciously, I inherited that from this book and took it with me through high school and now college. I would say time is everything with friendships. Relationships grow exponentially though time and will expose your relationship to many situations that can make your bond stronger. My best friend is the one I have had since 5th grade and we have definitely had our fair share of new experiences together and I have loved watching our friendship grow into what it is today! Fun Fact: she actually introduced me to this series!
Switching genres to memoirs, I wanted to start with one that inspired me my freshman year at college. I really wanted to thank this book because it motivated me to become not only more involved in my life in Texas but also to become healthier and increase my ability to self-motivate. I learned a lot from this book and it was written by Maye Musk. Yes, related to Elon Musk, it is his mother. The book is called A Woman Makes A Plan. I learned a lot from this book about understanding someone's life and their journey, which are two completely different things, and this book really focused on the journey. Not everything went right, in fact there were a lot of, not necessarily “wrong” turns, but not ideal situations for Maye and her family. What really settled into me while reading this book was that I need to be able to be adaptable and appreciate all the small things because they really do make all the difference in where you go and how you get there.
My all time favorite book is in this genre and it is called Educated by Tara Webster. This was such a thrilling story about Tara’s life. I think what made me so interested in it was the fact that her life, growing up Mormon in Utah, was so different from my own. I built a sense of understanding for the normalities in her life and became more undeniably impressed by all she has accomplished. In order to get to where she is today, she had to defy her family and their beliefs to do everything on her own and rejoin society. She is an inspiration to anyone that would benefit from watching her exceptionally exude independence throughout the book. I read this right before I left for college and it definitely helped me make the move from Chicago to Austin. Knowing that Tara did it without the support of her family and knew nothing about anything really, was different from me where I had the entire support of my family and knew a lot more than she did. I felt comfortable knowing that you do not have to know everything to be successful, but it definitely is an advantage. This is an amazing read and I always recommend it to everyone!
I am excited to continue reading and inspiring and comforting myself throughout my next three years here in college. Reading is a gift and a privilege, you can learn everything you didn’t know you needed just from reading books and that is an exhilarating feeling. The SheReads series at the Kendra Scott Center is an amazing way to start getting into reading with other people and start inspiring yourself and others around you. I promise you won’t regret it!!
About The Author:
Elise Moran '26
Finance
Entrepreneurial LeadHERship Fall 2023 Student