Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time, there was a young girl.  You could say she was like most girls her age.  You could say that she giggled with her girl friends.  You could say that she sat very lady-like.  You could say that she was sugar and spice and everything nice. You could say that she was average and perfectly ordinary. 

But you'd be wrong.

While jumping rope at recess could hold her attention for a little while, you were much more likely to find her playing football, basketball or soccer with the boys(it took them a little too long to realize they should treat her like the delicate flower they assumed her to be...to be honest, it was a lesson they learned the hard way MANY times over the years).  And many of her friends went home and spent hours playing video games or watching television. 

But not this girl.  Don't worry.  She didn't live in one of those homes without a television.  And she was allowed to watch it.  But quite frankly, there was something else she'd rather be doing.  Something she would choose over just about any activity, including sleep. 

She had an absolute passion for reading.  When she was in 1st grade, she read an impressive 512 books during the school year(it's true!  She has a plaque to prove it)!  And as she grew older, any time there was a reading related competition, she won quite handily. 

Rarely was she found without a book.  And while she did have her favorites, quite frankly, she would read just about anything she could get her hands on.  And she would stay up late into the night reading, oblivious to the time, except that she trained her ear for the clumsy tread of her father coming to make sure her reading lamp was off.  She learned to be quick...or read under the blankets with a flash light(is there really any wonder why she has such bad eye sight today?  Although, her night vision is incredibly impressive....almost super power level, I'd say).

Do you know why she loved all her books so much?  They transported her away.  Don't misunderstand.  Her life wasn't bad.  She had great parents and many friends.  But her imagination was perhaps a little too active for her own good(even now it gives her ideas that are far out of reach).  And she always aspired to greater, more exciting things.  When she would finally shut her book, turn off her light and close her eyes, she would be transported.  Her dreams would take her(quite vividly) away from hum-drum and into her books.  She could be anyone she wanted; go anywhere she wanted. 

Her passport doesn't show it, but she's been to Narnia, Platform 9 3/4, Galaxies far, far away, Middle Earth, Prairies, Jungles, Forests(enchanted and regular).  She doesn't have certificates, but she's proficient in Archery, Pulling a Handcart, Jedi Arts, Milking Cows, Witchcraft and Wizardry, and of course, Swordplay. 

You might wonder if all of these "adventures" led her to lead a slightly dysfunctional life.  You might wonder if she found everyday life to be disappointing, comparatively speaking.  And while she did try to control her expectations by having her imaginary adventuring end, shall we say, in a less ideal way, than the books on which they were based, she did, from time to time, wonder why reality couldn't emulate, at least a little, her books. 

In reality, she didn't find herself eagerly sought after by boys.  In fact, her tendancy to prefer hanging out with the boys(a little less drama, lets be honest), led to the boys not really seeing her as a girl, but rather as "one of the guys". 

In her everyday life, she didn't find herself needing her excellent skills with a sword.  Duelling wasn't really something you saw much of at her High School. 

In an average day, she never got to pilot a starfighter.  Rarely was she ever called upon to cast spells. 

And then she went to college and found that she had even less time for reading and that those imaginary adventures were a luxury she could not longer afford.

College textbooks occupied her time.  And the only reason her light was on into the wee hours of the morning was because she had procrastinated writing a paper. 

And life continued on.  She still read her books, but left her passion for them behind, assuming that it was just something she had to out grow.

Then, one day, she found herself with a gaping hole in her person(not literally, of course...that would be an entirely different kind of story).  She was not entirely at a loss as to how to fill it.  But it wasn't a hole that could be filled in over night.  She tried a few different things.  Some of them worked better than others.  Some needed time to expand to fill more space.  And then, in the back of her mind a light flickered on.  And she remembered. 

She remembered the places she could go.  She remembered the people she could be.  She remembered how she could leave everything behind for just a little while.  And just when she needed it the most, her passion re-ignited.  The possibilities became endless.  The hours flew by.  The emptiness began to fill.