Embracing Reading
As a kid, I absolutely hated reading. Loathed it. Despised it. There was no way that I would ever chose to read a book. Sure, I would grudgingly read a book for class, but I never got the draw. Why would anyone spend hours, sitting on a couch, staring at little ink symbols strewn across countless pages? How could anyone find joy in wasting their time with no movement besides turning pages? My parents tried for years. They bought me books, got me a library card, read to me. They tried different genres, different authors, but none of that helped if I refused to pick up any of them. Until one day where I lost a bet with my mom, where the consequence was reading the first chapter of any book I chose. The bet itself was insignificant, but the result was me picking up my first book and reading it. I was in the third grade. As I picked up the brand new copy of The Tail of Emily Windsnap, there was no way of predicting how much I took to reading. The one-chapter quota of the bet was blown away as I got absorbed in the story of the girl-turned-mermaid, and the one book turned into the entire series, which turned into third-grade me blowing through many books. The fiction and fantasy aisles of the local library soon became the places where I begged to go, the smell of old and new books becoming my favorite scents. Going to Barnes and Noble became a treat instead of a chore. And instead of television, you would find me on a chair, on the floor, on the couch, on my bed, or anywhere really, with a book in my hand.
Before reading for the first time, before third grade, I was a very outgoing kid. I would spend my time and extra energy running around outside, climbing trees, and playing with my friends or siblings. Not too long before the bet with my mom, I had been going through a rough time, being bullied and going through depression, though I never got it diagnosed. I had become introverted and quiet, even to my family, and I would cry a lot. I lost the majority of my friends, and the ones that I had lost were the primary cause of the bullying. I think that the reason that I took to reading at this time in particular was because of this, it became an outlet, an escape from my real world, to run away to.
My connection to the book, and the cause of me reading so much was also probably a connection that I subconsciously saw between me and the main character, Emily Windsnap. The character that I saw was going through a time of confusion and change, having just discovered that she could, in fact, turn into a mermaid, but also having to keep the secret, and distance herself from her family and friends. I saw a lonely, confused, and scared protagonist, which I saw in myself at the time. I also got to see her work through her struggles and emerge a better person than she was before. This inspired me, the ordinary, depressed, bullied, third grader, that I could come out on top somehow. That if Emily could work through a life-changing discovery, than I could persevere through this. And it worked, because instead of surrounding myself in toxic people, I surrounded myself in a fantasy world, and that drew helped draw me from my depression.
In reading The Tail of Emily Windsnap, I was drawn into the world of reading, and I never left. It had become an escape, taking me away from the world around me, so I could have time to calm myself considerably before thinking about things I needed to think about. It became a reward, one that I actively strove towards, being able to read, finally, after finishing my homework or chores, or maybe going out to buy a new book that I wanted after scoring well on my report card. It became a source of inspiration, of ideas, expanding my own imagination when I needed to write creatively for class, or when I would play games with the friends that stayed with me. It remained an escape for when I needed time to myself, to collect my thoughts, to calm down, to cheer up, or even to cry, if that’s what I needed. I wouldn’t have found my greatest pass time, one of my greatest joys, if I hadn’t lost that bet, if I hadn’t picked out that book, if I hadn’t started reading.