The dragons we encounter in our lives can be just as menacing and terrifying as one would imagine a dragon to be. They rear their beastly heads, spit burning fire that threatens to burn everything in its path, and threaten our lives with an unprecedented sense of fury. Not all of us are born princes, those who vanquish dragons with a stroke of a magical sword, filled with a bravery and courage that only a prince can possess. Nor are we all damsels in distress, needing the prince to come and save us from the monster that an evil force has imposed to keep us trapped in a castle forever. I am certainly neither a prince nor a princess, at least in the metaphorical sense. I'm certainly not about to go out and chop off the heads of whatever stands between me and my desires. Because what good would that do? We can't just overcome an obstacle in our life, save the princess and live happily ever after. Life doesn't work like a fairy tale. We are meant to learn from obstacles, grow, overcome more obstacles, grow again, and continue this cycle throughout our lives. Because no matter how many of them we kill, these dragons are not going to disappear from our lives. They'll keep coming back in all sorts of shapes and sizes, bringing with them as much pain as they can possibly possess, and causing us enough difficulty in our lives that we might want to give up, let them win for once . We might feel the urge to succumb to their fiery breath, drop our swords and give up the fight. The dragons in our lives will always be a presence hovering around us, waiting for us to slip up and make a mistake that opens the door for them to rush in and roar with ferocity. In Letters to a Young Poet, Rilke is like... middle of paper... we are immortal. We don't live happily ever after, but with a bunch of ellipses that prove our story never ends. We are part of a larger story, with a universal theme that unifies every human experience. We are all princes, princesses, dragons, beauty, perfection, imperfection and every kind of contradiction imaginable. It is a definition of the word life, a word so indefinable that it leads to an infinity of definitions. I guess I choose the one where dragons are princesses, where every obstacle in our life gives us purpose and meaning. Purpose and meaning drive us to succeed and become greater than we could ever have imagined. I choose to live a life that has purpose and meaning over any other type of life. The dragons in my life are princesses, and I will always embrace and learn from each of them..