The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

What is love? Love is the most powerful thing in the world. With love, you can overcome anything you are afraid of. With love, you can reach any goal you want to achieve. With love, you don’t need to face a difficult time alone. You really understand and appreciate the significant people who have given you this power and supported you forever.

Have you ever had a special thing to share with your best friends? The story explores a summer where four inseparable childhood friends spent time apart from each for the first time. They were unwilling to say goodbye, but in the meantime “the magical pants” just came along. Much to their surprise, that pants fit four girls perfectly so they reached an agreement to exchange their pants with one another during the summer vacation to keep each other company. Each of them wore the pants as they went through their hardships, sharing things with the others. If the four girls needed courage or comfort, they put the pants on and feel the support by their best friends, for that pants were filled with love from their friendship.

At sixteen, their destinies started off in various directions. There were of course a few struggles along the way, but the struggles subsequently led the protagonists to overcome their weakness and grow into better people. Lena, the most beautiful girl among the four, dared not to love because in the dim recesses of her mind she feared that her being loved merely stemmed from her beautiful appearance. Carmen, who always felt a nagging sense of insecurity about her father’s love, always wanted to be her father’s good daughter. Thus, she hid her feelings and avoided explaining her thoughts about her dad. That experience made her expect others to understand her without her saying out loud. Bridget, a track and field star, had courage to face problems head on, which was later regarded as her advantage as well as her disadvantage. That is, behind her courage existed little good sense. The last one, Tibby, always pretended to be cool. She judged others with little empathy toward them, but this was mainly the result of how she was raised. Through the summer, the girls learned and grew from their weaknesses through the hardships they faced. If there was something beside themselves that witnessed their growth, that would be the pants. The traveling pants were more than a pair of pants -- they participated in every valuable moment of the summer and witnessed the girls’ transformation.

The protagonists’ friendship began in their childhood. Not until this summer did they leave one another. Even though they were separated into different places and did different things, their friendship was not affected. This strong bond is something that readers can learn from. The bond remained strong despite the great distance between the protagonists, as their hearts were sewed together by love. When someone was in need, the other three girls came to her aid and gave her courage. It is just as the saying goes -- true friends are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart.

Ann Sullivan Macy once said, “You can’t touch love, but you can feel the sweetness that it pours into everything.” Love is not an object. Love is indiscernible. When people are apart, it’s not easy to perceive their love. Nevertheless, love can also be tangible, like the pair of traveling pants. The pants are something one can feel, touch and see. And the person who possesses the pants will know if it is actually there. It reminded the four girls that when encountering difficulties, it is important not to forget the love from friends or family. Even though you have to deal with some problems on your own, their love will be with you all the time.

The traveling pants represent a love that grew out of friendship. True friends are not the ones who make your problems disappear, but the ones who will not disappear when you are confronted with problems.