Personally, I view life as a continuous journey, similar to the general theme of the book, The Hobbit, as it follows the lives of the dwarfs in their pilgrimage type of quest. Specifically, my journey as a student pursuing a degree in nursing has been full of ups and downs just like the journey of the protagonist character, Bilbo Baggins in the quest to reclaim the lonely mountain together with the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug (Tolkien). Unlike back in high school where it was mostly smooth sailing, perhaps owing to the less demanding nature of the high school curriculum when compared to college, especially when studying nursing, college life came with its own set challenges. This transition was similarly uncomfortable to me at first as it was for Bilbo in the book when he was hired as a thief by the wizard in conjunction with the other dwarfs.
Over the course of my current journey, pursuing the nursing degree, I have viewed the different experiences from the different and distinct situations or periods of time in the same way that Bilbo experienced his time in the wilderness, elf heaven, the Misty Mountains, the black forest, the lake town and finally the Lonely Mountain itself (Tolkien). Using this analogy, I have equated the different locations to the different years I will be studying with the lonely mountain being the culminating year where I finally get to receive my certification as a professional nurse. On the same note, the brave and ingenious ways used by Bilbo to overcome the various challenges that he and his fellow dwarfs encountered throughout has continually inspired me to try out-of-the-box approaches of dealing with the numerous problems that characterize the student life. For example, by viewing the temptation that is drug abuse as the giant spiders that attacked the dwarfs, the trolls as the bad company of friends, the elves as the temptation of partying every night and so forth, I have been able to acknowledge their negative effect on my main objective, consequently seeing the need to fight such habits. For this reason, it was up to me to find an effective solution for dealing with these challenges, just as Bilbo dealt with his own through the help of the invincibility ring.
True to this, I was able to create a plan that has helped me balance the different aspects of my life, in the process helping me to become a better student, friend, son and person in general. Just like Bilbo was able to sneak in and out of dangerous situations without being detected, I was similarly able to enjoy the different aspects of my life without necessarily affecting the pursuit of my overall goal, to become a competent nurse. In this process, I have also been able to influence positively the lives of my friends, in a way comparable to the way Bilbo added value to the lives of his companions after he saved them from the elf prison and helped them to fight both the trolls and the spiders.
Finally, as arguably the most important piece of knowledge from the book that is reflected in my student life, I have learned to view the journey as equally important as the destination itself, mainly owing to the life changing experiences that gone through by Bilbo in the book (Tolkien). With this knowledge, I will equally treasure the experiences that I receive throughout my college life as the degree that I will be awarded at the end of the nursing program.