So a while back, I was getting ready for bed. Going about my usual routine, brushing the teeth, the hair, pj's, scriptures, prayers and bed. Now usually before bed I like to pick up a book for and read for a little while, ya know calm down and escape into another world for a bit. Only, on this particular night I made the fateful error of picking up a John Green book. (One of my favorite authors but more about him later.) To be precise I picked up Paper Towns, and as I read I got lost in the world of Margo Roth Spiegelman and Quintin Jacobson and trying to figure out the mystery as well as stopping myself from skipping to the end and reading the last chapter; something I'm guilty of I admit but hey, acceptance is the first step to recovery right? Anyways, like I said I got lost in the story, and I kept turning page after page and before I knew it, I had read a good third of the book and it was about three in the morning. And mind you, I had a test that morning too. With a self imposed guilty feeling growing inside, I quickly turned out the light and tried to fall asleep. As I laid there trying to clear my mind and count sheep, I thought about how easily I had gotten lost in the story and how time had gotten away from me, and I thought to my self, "You just John Greenned!!" I thought about all the other books that I had done this with too, I have gotten J.K.ed, Suzanne Collinsed, Tolkined, Orson Scott Carded and yes, even Stephanie Meyered (Don't judge, it was at a low point in my life) among others. I thought about what it takes to get authored and important it is to do so.
When an author can create a world that's so magical that you can lose yourself for a couple of hours, it's pretty incredible, even if that world is only in Florida. Sometimes people need a break from reality, and good authors provide a way to do that. When people tell me that they don't like to read, it saddens me and I think "Then how do you get away?" Often times people don't realize how important it is, think about it; if you're constantly going and going then you'll run out of steam, even if you get enough sleep, it won't matter because your brain will be so exhausted it won't be able to focus on anything and, a great way to rest your brain is reading! The author of many children's books, Theodor Geisel once said "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." He was also known as Dr. Suess I see reading as away to escape with out actually having to go somewhere, a vacation for your mind. You can go anywhere and be anything when you read. You can go into Mordor with the ring or start a revolution with some berries, you can go to Hogwarts and learn magic or you can break into Sea World with a mysterious girl. Walt Disney said "There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." And I couldn't agree with him more. I guess what I'm trying to say is... GO READ A BOOK!!!! Read for fun, read to learn something new, read to escape, read to comeback down, read to survive. Just read.
I want to thank all the authors that have authored me, and my elementary school teachers for teaching me to love to read. Go read a book!!!! And as always...
Keep it real.
~ACE~
