Content Warning: This section mentions bullying and gang violence.

“As he climbed, he thought of the generations of ancestors who had gone before him to bring his life to where it was at this moment. He resolved to make his life count for something when he got back to Minneapolis so that the lives of his ancestors would not be wasted by his stupidity.”

This quote alludes to Honoring Ancestors by Honoring the Self, a lesson Cole brings forward with him from his time on the island. Garvey taught Cole the importance of remembering one’s heritage and living one’s life with purpose to honor those who came before. Cole knows that he must return a different person than he left.

“A good day wasn’t a day without clouds but rather a day when one focused on finding the sunlight behind the clouds.”

Cole came close to death multiple times. Being on the island taught Cole the importance of appreciating each moment that he is alive. Cole remains optimistic and presses forward against the odds and against outside pressures to effect change in his school. He hopes that by doing so it will solidify his belief that he himself has changed.

“A thought kept haunting him: Maybe the monster that Peter once feared still existed.”

When Cole is thrust back into the chaotic environment of his hometown and school, he must learn that Transforming One’s Inner and Outer Reality is a process, one that requires him to address his own personal conflict before he can help others. Cole fears that being in his old environment will evoke the person he used to be. He strives to prove that that person no longer exists, referring to his past self as a “monster.