What the Heart Wants

By Lisa Anne Ong (Grade 10 – Luna)

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry may have given up on his dream to be an artist; however, he never once forgot how it was like to have that ambition as a child.

After four years, I read ‘The Little Prince’ again to realize that no matter how many times I read it, I still gain new impressions from it. If ever I require a mental break, this book never fails to make me feel like the little prince’s traveling companion in his journey. All of the characters have made various impacts on my life decisions.

They told me that by judging myself, it is not to bring myself down but to grow. Exploring new things has no limits. Be honest with your feelings and let it out once in a while. Lastly, by focusing more on numbers, we will never understand the joy of little things.

But most of all, the little prince taught me three main things: Love, Care, and Friendship. To take care of my planet, to determine my priorities or those who matter to me, and to understand how friendship works are all equally important.

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” – Fox

This is my favorite quote from ‘The Little Prince’. We figure out what we treasure the most through time and experience. We learn to understand the world and people much better. Some people or things become precious to us because of the time we have sacrificed for them. It is not needed to rack your brains for an immediate answer to problems that require time.

When you feel tired and lost, I encourage you to read it or read it once more. We tend to forget the most significant things we care for and regret it later on. Once lost, we can only hope to let go of our remaining guilt and let the person we love go through their own path.