An author is a catalyst, the words on a page a driving force, and for avid readers, a book can ignite a spark that burns and propels one on a path never intended. Reading takes an individual on a journey, not merely through forests of the unknown but a journey that is literally stepped, one foot in front of the other, day in and day out.
The power story contains is one of unraveling knowledge previously not mastered. Upon the closure of the final cover, or hearing the last syllable spoken--if you are open to listen, to hear, and to comprehend--it is possible to have the path lit, all obstacles banished, if even for mere seconds.
My path has been lit on several occasions, be various stories, from a mere fraction of authors. I never intended for my path to be one set in the field of Humanities, but moments happened, events took place, and books were read.
The irony of literary studies is that each reader is alone on their journey as they trail a step behind their friends (the characters, settings, and plots of each story). I'd like to take a moment here to discuss a few books and authors that I can pin-point as shaping my life.
It wasn't until my 12th birthday that I was given the gift that allowed me to find the true passion of reading, to escape for hours in the power of word. My sister gave me this gift. I continue to wonder if she recognizes the significance her gift has played in my life and the shaping of ME. The book "Ender's Game" was passed from her hand to mine. The author Orson Scott Card, was the only author I would read for years to come. His story still resonates even 18 years later. The works knitted so finely together that while reading I saw everything, felt the lose of gravity as I was propelled into war games, and fantasy and machine came to life in my hand. A year after reading the novel, I was lucky enough to see the author speak at Utah State University, his physical presence was so unlike my vision of him. Yet, his novels engulf my downstairs bookshelf to this day.
Seven years after this initial jolt into reading, I found myself in college with the intention to receive a degree in Marketing. Allowing myself to be discouraged by a professors words about my writing, I hadn't placed ink to paper creatively for six months. When I entered a Young Adult Literature course and the professor assigned "Weetzie Bat" by Francesca Lia Block to read, a new fire emerged. I remember finishing the story in my small little studio and immediately having to write. Mrs. Block's creative and poignant style of taking fairy-tales and merging them to modern pop-culture was electrifying and artistic. I switched my degree path to English the following semester and began the first steps on the quest of folklore.
A year later, my Mom informed me I had to read another story (check out first blog for full story). In my wildest dreams I never imagined child wizards would direct me to travel thousands of miles across the globe, to reenact wizard chess in Switzerland, to present in London, or to achieve a second college degree, but they did. Oh how "Harry Potter" has shaped my life and J.K. Rowling, the author, knows none of this.
If I could have but one wish, it would be to see Rowling (or Card, or Block) in a cafe one day. I would turn to my server and request that they take the author a drink--on me of course--and have the server tell them thanks. All this would happen as a silently got up, had the author give me a small look, and I leave with a smile on my face and allow them to finish their next story. One can dream, right?
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