My Cave and My Friend

Plato’s analogy of the cave can be related to everyone in many different ways, such example is my own experience toward another person.  A few years back, I firmly believed that I can help people out by trying my best to encourage them reach their goal.  When I was still in community college and fresh out of high school, I always had the dream that I would continue my schooling with one of my close friends, Mr. K.  Mr. K had shown interest in attending collage but did not have as strong the desire to go as I did.  I thought  that hleping him out would help him get his act together.  What had ended up happening was that I would give Mr. K rides from his house to school.  As time passed, he ended up quitting going to classes, and for years I had put my own education to a slower pace in order to get him to go.  However, the results would always be fruitless.  I had always thought that I could get him to go to school but later on i realized that the end result will always be the same and that I cannot change him and the only person that would change him would be himself.  In the end, I had no choice but to quit on him and shifted the focus more on my own studies. I would only hope that in the future Mr. K will change his way of thinking.  

I can relate several of Plato’s symbols in his allegory cave to my experience with my friend.  Starting off with the idea of the cave, I think that I was the one in that cave since I was so confident in getting Mr. K back to school but ended up failing, and my shadow would be my ego as it got the best of me saying that I can be the one that can get him back to school and so I became my own prisoner.  The puppeteer would be myself since I let myself be convinced that I can help my friend out.  When I was exposed to the things that I’ve been doing I realized that all those efforts I have put into helping him never worked, and this path I took prevented me from going  forward with my own life.  I was blinded by the fact that I could make a difference in Mr. K’s  life and by giving up on him brought me sadness and pain knowing that nothing will change¸ leaving him to his self-destruction.  Knowing gave me a sense of freedom, and the things Mr. K did give me was the realization of things I should not do in life and I would try to avoid what he has done so I can move on.  In the end I have to return knowing the fact that my friend would always be the same and the only way for him to change is by helping him help his own self.