There are a few ways in which one can go to a reality that isn’t the one she or he is in now, or at least that’s what it feels like. Movies and books can take you from one place to a different one in an instant. My favorite way to get out of the reality in which we live is books. Books are my favorite pastime and the easiest way for me to get sucked into a completely different reality and live someone else’s wonderful life. Well, I guess it’s not only great lives that the people in the books have, but they’re different lives. Lives that I can’t live, but I wish I could. People I wish I could meet, but can’t due to the characters being fictional.
You see, while I do enjoy reading, I usually don’t have the time to read because my life is pretty much being consumed by school and work. The only time I have time to read currently is usually during study hall, and I should probably be working on homework. I guess that I read during study hall to get away from school. I mean, we have to go to school for five days a week for seven hours. Sitting down for about an hour at a time and dealing with people that you sometimes don’t exactly like gets pretty tiring. Books get me out of the depressing time that school brings to me. Even if it is only an hour that I get to go to a different world, it helps.
People read books to get out of reality, not just only because they are depressed and don’t like the world they’re in, but I do believe people want to go to a different reality to see what things are like through someone else’s life. Like my favorite character to follow around is Maria from See Me by Nicholas Sparks. She lives the adventurous life and has some pretty great family and friends, she’s got a good job and she makes time for outdoorsy stuff. Something I wish I could do. They want to see through the eyes of their favorite characters. Those characters could remind them of someone they know in reality. That person could be someone they really look up to, so they think of the character as that person. So it could feel like looking through the eyes of a friend instead of the actual character. I guess it just varies. Even though you see them a certain way in a book, movies that are made about them can change the look of the characters without a single thought.
You can see them in your head one way, and in the movie they will more than likely look completely different. That’s why everyone likes the books better because the movies usually don’t follow the plot from the book. Therefore, it’s easier, and way better to read books to escape to a different reality. If you don’t like to read, maybe you should pick up a book that’s the same genre as the movies you enjoy to watch, and you might be able to read it. You never know until you try.
Trying to escape reality is a lot easier than you think. You just have to pick up a book and really enjoy it; that’s all it takes. If you can’t picture yourself in the characters’ shoes, you’re probably not as into it as you think. Books are fun, and you live a different life, if even for a short time. Enjoy it, there’s nothing like it. You can travel the world, but nothing is quite like traveling into a book and living someone else’s life. Books are a marvelous creation, and you should cherish them with your life.
Alexis King is a student at Mabel-Canton High School. She is one of eight area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its eighteenth year.
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