it all comes back to books

Soundtrack: Wise Man by Liam Finn
Words: Nothing. Gosh, how sad is that? But, to be fair, I've just recently started writing fanfiction again (I know, a little pathetic, but hey, how else am I supposed to get my Harry Potter fix?) which means... 1825 words! Woo-hoo technicalities!

Well, look who it is. Little Miss If-I-don't-blog-for-long-enough-maybe-someone-awesome-and-productive-will-hack-my-account-and-do-it-for-me! It's been a busy few days.

Yesterday I was babysitting two little girls (5 and 6 years old) for four and a half hours. Four and a half. ARGGGHH!

So once they tired themselves out (running, fighting, screaming--I'm not exaggerating at all, but really, they weren't that bad. I love little kids--in short doses), they picked out a movie to watch. It ended up being some boring, mildly disturbing cartoon show where the characters sing about how much they love each other and, of course, no one wears pants but, when they were picking out what to watch, I saw that they had a few Harry Potter DVDs.

Harry Potter was a huge part of my life, growing up. I understand that it has been and will be a big, important, life changing thing for a lot of people--and that's fantastic--but kids like the girls I was babysitting aren't going to grow up with the tantalizing fear, exhilaration, laughter, sadness, happiness and overwhelming love that came from waiting in line for hours at the midnight release of a soon-to-be-read-in-one-sitting Harry Potter book.

Books like these, books that stretch our emotions and experiences, teach us about ourselves.

Reading about a character who faces certain obstacles, perils, decisions--you can't help but think about how you would face them. Though, to be fair, I have absolutely no idea if I'd be able to withstand a dementor or have the courage to ride a hippogriff. Actually, because my friends and I are such geeks, earlier today one of my friends asked me if I would enter the Tri-Wizard tournament. I said no, but I can't be sure.

Basically, this whole post was an excuse to fangirl over Harry Potter--but still, when you read a book, good or bad, you become a part of that world. You, the reader, have just as much of an emotional arc as the characters do.

I think that's why I love reading and I love writing so much. I love being put in someone else's shoes and being able to see their world, live their story.

Maybe I didn't learn everything I know about myself from books, but definitely a good portion of it :)

Love,
Erika