Do you still remember the times when you just got lost in imagination? When you would pretend to be dazzling fairies, beautiful mermaids, courageous knights, powerful magicians, or wealthy princesses? Where you could travel to enchanting places like the center of the world, Mars, Neverland, or Andalasia? Or, when you would possess superhuman abilities? Well, reading the excerpt of The Ingenious Gentleman: Don Quixote of La Mancha reminded me of those times.

While reading Don Quixote, I thought about how my own imagination is ignited by the arts, but mostly by books. I remember the many times as a little girl how I would pretend to be my favorite princess, an animal that I most wanted to be, or even one of the French schoolgirls from Madeline. As I got older, I became exposed to different kinds of novels. Today, I still actively use my imagination. I like to think about becoming a demigod, a wizard, or a superhero, seeking adventure at every corner.

The final scene of the excerpt reminded me of a certain event in Antoine de-Saint Exupéry's The Little Prince. This event is when the narrator of the story shows the adults his picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant, but they only see a hat. Sancha Panza, Don Quixote’s “squire”, is like those adults. In the passage, it seems like he is very dull and unimaginative. He somewhat destroys the fun his “knight” was having. Don Quixote, on the other hand, is the narrator. So imaginative and child-like to think the windmills were horrific giants.

I believe that we should never lose that child-like quality, that innocence. As we get older, we tend to lose that nature. Yes, with age comes maturity, but it doesn’t mean we need to lose our imagination. It’s healthy to still imagine and to still get lost in our daydreams. But, be cautious because we might become a little bit crazy just like the knight of La Mancha. If we do not monitor and lose control of our dreams, it just might lead to disaster.