Hazle Grace and Her Influence On Me by Rochelle

Hazle Grace and Her Influence On Me by Rochelle - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

To me, the best book I’ve ever read was “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. It is about a cancer patient named Hazel Grace. She is forced to join a support group where she meets Augustus Waters. Hazel expresses the love she has for the book, “An Imperial Affliction”, written by Van Houten. Later on in the story Augustus invites Hazel to Amsterdam to meet Van Houten and to ask him questions about the unfinished ending of his book. Van Houten was nothing Hazel imagined him to be. He was a sloppy alcoholic. During the trip to Amsterdam, the two share a kiss and end up falling in love with each other. They left Amsterdam without the answers to their questions. Later on in the book, Augustus’s cancer came back and it was worse than ever. He passed away. Hazel was devastated and when Van Houten arrived at the funeral she was in complete shock. He drunkenly tells Hazel that Anna was the name of his daughter. She died of cancer when she was just eight years old. He tells her that he wrote the book as his way of coping with his daughter’s death.

From the book, Hazel Grace in the one who influenced me the most. She is a very inspiring individual just because of her story. Even though she has a life threatening illness, she still makes the best out of what she has. She understands that she will never be the average teenager and she will never be considered “normal”. Instead of feeling sorry for herself she tackles it with humor. Hazel marches to her own beat. She doesn’t follow trends or do things a certain way just because that is what’s “in”. She goes with what she likes. She is true to herself. She doesn’t try to pretend to be something she’s not. I relate to her because I enjoy reading, I don’t follow trends, and I try to look and the good in everything and everyone. We are alike in that, we are optimistic and she doesn’t sit around feeling pity for herself or making others feel pity for her. Hazel is an influential character because she makes the best out of every situation she’s in. She has cancer and she still manages to make people laugh and feel at ease.