Reality is a Lovely Place

Why do I love reading?? Well, I've always had an overactive imagination. I've always been able to take a situation and run with it in my head. This is a blessing and a curse. I can conjure up pretty much anything, and is a lot of fun! I can see the positive outcomes to a seemingly bleak situation, and see possible solutions. It makes being in theatre really fun, too. Downsides: Sometimes I get lost in my head. I can sit quietly for a veeeery long time. People don't understand where I'm coming from sometimes, because it's so out there. I become attached to fiction - a book, movie, person I've created. It reminds me of Beatrice Potter, who wrote Peter Rabbit. She called her characters her friends. The worst is when someone I know in my Imagi Nation is an awful lot like someone I know in real life. Then, I see the possibilities of who they can become, or who I'd like them to be.

Have you ever been to Disney World? Or had a great show run? Or gone on an epic vacation? Or had an awesome summer? Remember that feeling you had when whatever it was ended? That feeling of emptiness or disappointment is what I feel EVERY STINKING TIME I READ A BOOK. It's deep and personal, and it's like a good friend has just moved away, or we had a falling out. That feeling that you just need to give them a last hug before they leave, but you can't. (I definitely can't, because... they're not... real.)

....And then they turn the book into a movie. It happens all over again. It's almost worse if the actor looks at all like I imagined the character. This is the case with The Hunger Games. I fell in love with Peeta Mellark the moment he stepped up next to Katniss at the Reaping. It got worse as I continued reading all three books. I just always felt close to him. I could see us walking around District 12 or Rockville Town Center... Me giving him advice on how to deal with Katniss, him giving me cookies and great hugs. Is that terrible? It's probably because Peeta reminds me of several of my friends rolled into one amazing guy. It definitely doesn't help that Josh Hutcherson is attractive. 

It's awesome to be able to put yourself into a story so effectively. The Hunger Games was really fun and heart wrenching to read. I had a lot of fun as a kid. I could see these super complex stories to play with my friends. We had plot lines that took us to pirate ships, farms, zoos, kingdoms, and a whole town we invented in our basement (That was inspired by this book).

I never wish my imagination was less than it is. I look around, and see that I live in a society where imagination is celebrated when it produces something great. Otherwise, can be stunted or stimulated at a young age by the movies and television we push on them. Some kids just cannot use their imagination. Other can see the world movies presents them and beyond. My imagination hasn't created anything "great", but it has created a few characters I've played, the games I played as a kid, and everything I write. I'm just curious to see the movies they'll make and the books they'll write in 25, 50, 65 years. What characters will I be introduced to? What friends will I make?

I guess we'll just have to see... But I will continue to quote my hero Adam Young: Reality is a lovely place, but...

I wouldn't want to live there.