The Alchemist?

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the Alchemist and its meaning. I cannot wrap my head around the idea of a personal legend, because if the worlds greatest lie is that your fate is set, then how do you make your own fate? Isn't your personal legend your destiny or fate? Of course you can choose whether or not to pursue your personal legend, it is what you are fated to do. I guess I just have a hard time grasping the notion that you can have a fate that is destined for you and choose whether to pursue it or not, because if something is destined for you then you really don't have a choice, because it will bother you your entire life. If it was true that you could make your own personal legend, then there wouldn't be omens pushing you towards it, because it would be your decision where you are going, not where your personal legend tells you to go. I mean, I get the whole follow your dreams thing, but it seems contradictory to me if your dream is already picked for you. What if Santiago wanted to see the great Wall of China? Would his personal legend prevent him from doing so? What makes the pyramids so special? It would be different if he really wanted to go there, but when he has some supernatural force pulling him towards the pyramids, that doesnt mean that it was his dream to do that. I just feel like the author kind of went in circles and tried to convey the same idea throughout the entire book. It was kind of cliche. like he leaves the girl finds gold and goes back to her and they live happily ever after. that isnt how it works in real life and it makes me kind of mad that that is how the author chose to tell the story. I mean i enjoyed the book, but it could have been a lot better if it was mroe realistic than how he portrayed it.