As, Dr Suess said, "Oh the places you will go..." Well nowhere...you are going nowhere, if you don't read. It saddens me to think of people who hate reading. That statement seriously pains me. I find ignorance in people who make that remark. I want to push and question them. Why? What have you ever tried reading? High school required reading? Can you put a chair together without reading instructions first? I mean, that statement..."I hate reading!" is almost preposterous. But perhaps I am insane. I read everything. And I read it with intense curiosity. I always have, even has a child.
I often wonder how kids grow into the personalities they have as adults. Sure, your upbringing and parents effect you. Both my dad and mom have always loved to read. Many days my mom would read on the couch. And you wouldn't see her bedside table with a tattered copy of something. My dad has been a big fan of biographies. He'd pick up the biography of a music artist or historical figure he was interested in at the time. But there has to be more outside of your parents that affects your personality. What makes kids more into sports/ more intellectual? I know that some parents force hobbies onto their children but, thankfully, nothing was forced on me. I always read. I wasn't forced to. I enjoyed required readings, even over the summers. I drove myself to the library once I was old enough. I found satisfaction in completing large volumes. I remember finishing Anna Karrenina around 13. I understood very little about it, but I completed it.
I would go yard sale to yard sale picking up old copies of books I saw in libraries. I built my shelves into an adventure I planned to complete before I died. Sometimes I would even end up with two copies, forgetting what I had. I can't even remember what I read when I was younger. The Phantom Tollbooth, Agatha Christie, even Babysitter's Club were among a few. I know as I grew older, I pushed my limits on what would be acceptable for a young adult to read. There was no censorship on my reading. And if it didn't make sense, at the ending page, I would turn the book around and begin again. I have read and re-read many classics such as, Jane Eyre, Into the Wild, and my all time favorite, The Catcher and the Rye.
I truly believe that my love of reading has transformed me into the individual I am today. I am a social butterfly. I love people. Some days I find loneliness in a quiet apartment and pick up a book, or magazine to console me. In those books, within those characters I find friends, and also enemies.
In Stephen King I find harsh realities in bone chilling tales. I oftentimes, hitch a train and smoke illegal drugs with Kerouac, Ginsberg and Thomson. Its always a party. We find the best live music, and take advantage of people's kindness. I read true accounts of the Appalachian trial and escape into the wild with Jennifer Pharr Davis. I read dark stories about the holocaust and fall in love in stories set abroad. I go to France and Ireland. I visit Germany and Japan. I am capable and I am fearless. Whoever I am not in the real world, I can be in books. The confidence I lack in the real world is, then, granted into my readings and writings.
Sometimes I turn to the internet. I am no saint and will tell you, I spend far too much time on Facebook. I am often directed to blogs and articles written by people like me. We don't know each other, but I guarantee if we met, we would hit it off like old friends. Perhaps they are typing with a cup of coffee beside of them, in the silence of their apartments expressing their opinions to people they don't know. sThey have high hope for page views, comments and/or someone to publish them. they yearn to complete a book, or perhaps they already have. Regardless, they sit on the edge of their chair waiting for the next topic to come to mind. As it may be, they use writing as an excuse to experience life. Yes, live music. Yes, lets travel. Yes, lets have a beer. I am that reader...as well as that writer. I hope to always be.
My love of reading has shaped the way I talk, as well as, the way I write. I write just like I talk...straight to the point. I will not write a sentence that doesn't sound like me. I don't smother my sentences in big words. If I wouldn't say them, I won't type them either. With that being said, my grammar is so so. Why write something that doesn't sound real. Most people don't talk in complete sentences. We use run ons and fragments. I believe reading builds stronger vocabularies. I am always searching for new words and adjectives to describe shitty situations, lovely foods and feelings in my life. I challenge my fiancé with words and sometimes lose. It's okay though, because with each new word comes a sense of accomplishment. I keep a running list of words I would like to use on my phone. And if you want to call me a nerd, go ahead. I am one.
My life would not be the same without the typed blogs, notes scribbled on napkins saved for decades, dog eared pages, or weathered journals with letters from friends and family. I will never stop reading or writing all of these things. Years from now, all those words will be worth more than gold to me, imaginably maybe, to you too.
