The Real Secret

            Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe has been an awesome read. Although narrated by Ari, the reader still gets a good sense of Dante’s perspective through the dialogue. What I found interesting is that Dante knows he likes boys, yet he is ashamed to tell his parents. Dante’s parents are supportive of anything involving Dante, and that is still true when they find out he is gay. On the flip side, Ari’s secret seems to be from himself. The entire time Ari and Dante have known each other it has been love. In Ari’s case, it takes his parents, and a family meeting, to convince him to “come out.” Ari’s parents are especially supportive because of a close aunt who happened to like girls. Ari’s aunt lived with her partner until death. Ari’s mom commented that her aunt taught her a lot. I think Ari’s mom knew early in the story that Ari and Dante had more than a “best friend” relationship.

           

I’m going to switch to the idea of “coming out.” In a story, such as this book, “coming out” has to do with expressing sexual orientation, such as being gay. After reading the book and participating in a class discussion on Tuesday, I have a different thought. An expansion, really. A quote from the book sums it up well “The problem with my life was that it was someone else’s idea.” It is hard to get past what others want, especially while growing up. Sometimes one is lucky enough to find a new path in college or once you can leave home. If and when you do that, whatever the age, I would say that is also “coming out,” in the sense that you are finding out what you like and who you are. I realized how much I was still under people’s and certain society’s expectations when I began to live on my own. One of my professors unraveled those expectations even more in a business class and follow-up discussions. Now, as I get ready to graduate, I feel like the new puzzle pieces can be put together and the “Stacy B” picture will appear. Ari mentions something about adults always changing. Yes. So, come out, be yourself, and let’s all see where that takes us.