A Wind In The Door

“To name is to exist.” However, it doesn’t mean to live under a particular frame that the society imposes on you. To name, is to recognize your being. To name, is to discover who you truly are. To name, is to embrace everything in your life, even if it is someone you would shun away from or something you dare not face. In this sense, to name is to accept, and then exist. This is what I’ve learned from the story, A Wind in the Door.

The story depicts a girl, Meg, who undergoes a transformation of acceptance and forgiveness by changing her perspectives of seeing things in her life. In the beginning, Meg’s brother, Charles, contracts an unknown disease. While seeking remedies for the disease, Meg encounters a mysterious angel in her backyard fortuitously. The mysterious angel, Cherub, is in fact a teacher and a guardian during the adventure. He subsequently assists Meg to accomplish many tough and daunting tasks to cure Charles of his disease. To save Meg’s little brother, Cherub and Meg sneak into Charles’ mitochondria, the energy factory in his cells, and fight against the wicked power, Echthroi. After having a fierce battle against evil, they finally conquer the obstacles and save Charles.

During the process, Meg has been through a remarkable transformation. Since the health of her brother is in critical condition, she needs help from Charles’ principal, Mr. Jenkins, whom she holds great resent to. Being a failed principal, while Meg is explaining about her out-of-order behavior, Mr. Jenkins not only refuses to listen but also yells at her, “Unteachable and disobedient!” These words pound heavily on Meg, a teenager with strong dignity. Meg finds herself reluctant to turn to Mr. Jenkins, not to mention rescuing him from the other two replicas, “stale Jenkins” and “unkind Jenkins”, which are disguised by Echthroi! Once realizing the two antagonists actually represent how she sees Mr. Jenkins, Meg decides to abandon her prejudice. She starts to view him as a person who needs love and pursues recognition. This transition of mindset, in my opinion, is the process of “re-naming” someone.

Sometimes, we ignore the importance of seeing things differently. If we insist on our own perspectives and lack understanding, estrangement would be built among people and distrust seated. Eventually, we find it hard to connect with others genuinely. Therefore, instead of seeing things from our own viewpoints, we should stand in others’ shoes. Only by doing so can we truly understand someone and find their virtues.

At the end of the story, the mission of saving Charles is completed. Yet, the happy ending leaves me with another question—how come and why Charles develops such a fatal disease? In the first place, Charles is an exceptional student in school. Therefore, he is often treated as an extraterrestrial by his peers. Though bullied and humiliated, Charles doesn’t fight back, but chooses to forbear the assaults from others because he sees his endowed intelligence as an abnormal part of him. The unwillingness to accept his uniqueness finally leads him to health problems. I believe this is the message the author wants to convey to us—without understanding the value and embracing our own traits, we will eventually throw ourselves into an abyss—the abyss where we deny ourselves! Born with dark and protruding eyebrows, I used to think myself bizarre in others’ eyes. Since elementary school, this odd pair of eyebrows had made me feel inferior. After years, however, I realized the dark thick eyebrows are actually God’s gift that is meant to help me stand out. What’s better, it gives me a time-and-money-saving advantage. After all, it’s not necessary for me to draw eyebrows while doing makeup!

To “name” or not to “name”, that is the question. Although loving the unlovable ones seems an impossible mission, love does win in this touching story! Just as strolling along the passages of re-naming with Meg, I perceive more of the warm breeze than the cold wind that propels me to the door of greatness and a better me!