An author who has significantly impacted my life is the Beat Generation novelist, Jack Kerouac. Most of his novels were centered on adventure and reevaluating one’s lifestyle. This is what the Beat Generation was about, according to American writer, Amiri Baraka, “The so-called Beat Generation was a whole bunch of people, of all different nationalities, who came to the conclusion that society sucked.” I think this quote provides the concepts behind Kerouac’s works about living your own life and going in your own direction. One novel by Kerouac, On the Road, has unexpectedly changed my views on life.

The experiences the characters in his novel have gone through inevitably will come to an end, either positive or negative. Nevertheless, they appeared to live their lives to the fullest, and that is only something I can hope to do in life. Especially in today’s society, we are raised to experience so little of the world around us. Most of us have never even traveled to another state alone just for the sake of seeing what is on the other side. We rush to different places with no real concept of why we are there, except for what is on the schedule that our parents have designed for us no matter the circumstance.

I believe that the Beat Generation is a time period about experiencing something you never have before, or would never get the chance to if you don’t take the action. I think that we as people are scared to venture out on our own and go against the original plans we have made. No one wants to be considered a ‘failure’ and have to try over. Personally, I believe the Beat Generation would be an ideal time period for myself to live in. One could change directions much more easily during this time. It would allow not only myself, but also allow society to open their eyes and live their own life, in a unique way. I find traveling the country, such as on a road trip across America, aimlessly so simple but at the end of the journey, it would have such an experience that it is no longer simple but the opposite: complex. The same complexities I believe can be found by setting off on a journey with friends for the fact to live like these characters; live a life full of adventure. You will experience something you never have before, something that will never leave your mind or your heart.

Through the ideas written in the novel about touring the country and his experiences, I feel as if I have yet to experience anything but what the common person does. I want to wake up one day and not be concerned with the unavoidable, occupational and economic problems. I believe that through the author’s life I have been able to see what I have accomplished in life, and how much more out there the world has to offer me. So I want to be able to live my life the way I want. This will allow me to start on a new path, like a breath of fresh air, and hopefully I will end up in the right place for myself.