After reading the final pages of Siddhartha, we are left with a character who is broken through constant bad decisions. Siddhartha, a man who has devoted his entire life towards finding the meaning of life, recollects to when he abandoned his family, just like how his son did to him. He was trying to understand the meaning of life, and the message was right in front of him all along. Love. Love is a strange factor that could drive a person to accomplish anything, or taking everything from them. Siddhartha romanticizes the thought of Nirvana, but constantly chooses his own desire over spending time with his loved ones. All be it, leaving his mother and father was understandable, but leaving his wife, Kamala and his son crossed a line between seeking knowledge and being ignorant. I could imagine many people argue that it was crucial for Siddhartha to leave his family, but I thought that was selfish of him. A woman, who could have easily married any other man, chose him to give her a child, and he left her like she was just for the night. Sadly, I understand this idea of choosing something over my loved ones, whether it could be an activity or another person. I used to not value family time, and I would much rather be playing games with my friends, but as I grew up those little moments with family makes me realize that family is forever. What I mean is by forever is that they will always have your back, and will love you unconditionally. That kind of love was given to Siddhartha, and I pity him for not learning this lesson that I have, earlier.