Have you ever experienced a moment of silence in life? The kind they show in movies where everything suddenly makes sense, it's like all the pieces of an invisible puzzle suddenly fit and you can see on the actor's face that something, you may not know what, but something, is suddenly right. Well I have had one of those moments. I don't know if at the time I realized it was, but looking back I can see it (in slow motion) as plain as day.
It was the year 2000, and I was sitting in a third grade classroom. It was an ordinary day like any other, we were practicing cursive and doing some sort of mathematical equation, when my teacher, Mrs. Carolyn, decided she was going to start a book club of sorts for our class. We would start this off by reading a book about a boy wizard. It was called, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone." Our classroom fell silent and for effect she turned out the lights. I had never much been an avid reader, but I sat captivated in my seat, certain that something was about to unfold that I would be all too interested in. I can still recall sitting in that third desk on the first row as she sat on her stool and began,
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense..."
It's so strange to me how one moment can forever alter the course of your life. I can still feel the sense of wonderment and excitement I felt as Mrs. Carolyn unraveled a world of magic and horror, I had seldom been accustomed to previously. It was in that moment, on that ordinary day, that I completely fell in love with the written word.
You see for me, words are magic. I love the way a book can transport you to a completely different time, immerse you in the lives of people so far outside your own tiny existence, and just alter your version of people or reality. I love the way a song can tell a story as clearly as if you are watching it unfold before your eyes, or the way a poem can rhymingly (or not) express a persons innermost desires disguised as something completely non-threatening. I truly wish I were a more eloquent writer and could impress upon you my love for, well, words.
Since I fell in love with the written word ten years ago my appreciation of it has only grown stronger, my desire to further it, more palpable. I long to create characters of my own that people fall in love with and want to grow with, the way I fell in love with a scrawny boy with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead all those years ago. For me, Harry Potter is the ultimate example. Since I began reading Harry Potter in 2000, I haven't stopped. I have read every book, more than twice, and the third one at least four or five times (it isn't my favorite, per-say, it just happened that way). Simply put, I love Harry Potter. I read, fascinated as he was taken from a miserable upbringing with the Dursley's to a world of wonder and excitement beyond even his dizziest daydreams. I was captivated through six years of schooling, crushes,love, mistletoe, heartbreak, sacrifice, courage, and bravery and one year of terrifying situations, death-defying feats, shocking alliances, and triumph in the face of defeat. If I could one day create a character that people love half as much as I adore the ones that fill the pages, penned by J.K. Rowling, than I would be incredibly ecstatic.
So for me, as you caught by the long rant, words are magic and a simple moment of reading by a third grade teacher, whom will always carry a special place in my heart, changed my life forever. Now you know that writing is my passion, my silent, everything makes sense moment, but I'm curious, what was yours? Have you had one? If so, I'd love to hear all about it. There is a comment section below! Thanks for reading :)
