Undergraduate / What challenged you - supplement - fit for the prompt? [4]

this is actually a slightly edited piece from another app to another college
just wondering if it would fit the prompt?

What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?

When reading Haruki Murakami's the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I felt that I resembled the character Okada, who rejected signs that his wife was cheating on him. "My wife had a lover. I couldn't believe it at first. Now, looking back, I can see there were all kinds of little clues." He knew this all along, but he chose to ignore the hints, wasting his time waiting for the news that would never come. If he had accepted the truth earlier, he could move on.

I could relate to Okada, because I was in the same situation. In a sense, I was ignoring reality: perfection is an unattainable ideal. In my heart, I knew that I did not have to be perfect, but I did not want to face this fact; I wrongly believed that my goal of perfection was the sole cause of my past success. After reading this novel, I realized if the truth slapped me in the face with such shock, I would rather accept it earlier and move on. So I decided to give up my obsession and accept my blemishes.

After completing an expedition, I was convinced that taking risks wasn't such a bad thing after all; if they worked, we could reap the rewards, if they didn't, we could learn from our mistakes. Most importantly, I learned that by taking risks, I mature.

Thanks to Murakami's words, I learned how to escape perfection's grasp around my neck. I am now mature enough to appreciate that my imperfections motivate me and make me unique. Now that I see risk as a catalyst for change, I no longer need to stick to safe, conventional ideas: I can create my own.

thanks in advance to any help out there :)