Seeing Kostos

     In Forever In Blue by Ann Brashares, the Septembers have been away from each other for a full year at college. It's been almost two years since Kostos, Lena's ex boyfriend, got married to another woman in Greece. Still, Lena is reminded of him in almost everything she sees. I think this is an important part of Lena because it shows you how she wishes for him.

     It's almost as if she's trying to find something that makes her as happy as Kostos did by seeing these features that remind her of him. For example, Lena was in art class and was noticing how the person in front of her was a lefty, like Kostos, and had black hair, also like Kostos. She was even curious enough to wait 15 minutes after class just to take a look at his face. I think this shows that she's almost wanting him into existing. She wants him to be there, to have come back for her, but some coincidences make her too hopeful that it's him. It's as if, in the back of her mind, she's always looking for any sign of him.

     Lena looking for Kostos is like cloud watching. Trying to make clouds into shapes and naming them is like forcing their shape into existence. This is applicable in many parts of life. If you really want something to be there, you can begin to see it. You can change the way things appear to you. In a totally unbiased light, some things can seem completely acceptable, but then if you're coming from a different angle, the same action or feature could become what you're looking for.

      It's like the quote, "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."(Wayne Dyer). Lena is always looking for Kostos, so everything begins to look like him.

      But why does everyone look for their version of Kostos? Whether your "Kostos" is a person, a thing, or a sign of fate, why do people even try to look for it? I believe that people do it for hope. Maybe if you see something that reminds you of your Kostos, then it makes it easier for you to believe that what you want relating to it will happen. To you, it might look like a sign front he universe. Maybe, like in Lena's case, it's a happy possibility that he's coming back. Living in hope is a much better alternative than to being miserable believing that your wishes won't come true.