I’m trying to convince myself that it’s alright not to be fine.
The past two years have been a period of great mess. From trying to find my footing to coping with everything else going around, my life hasn’t been short on drama. It hasn’t been clear sailing, to be honest. But then again, life doesn’t take us on any easy journeys, does it? That being said, it hasn’t been a lonely voyage by any stretch of imagination. In fact, I have had the constant companionship of books, which have effortlessly made the process a lot more endurable for me.
I have been immensely fond of books since my formative years. Those little pockets of bliss were my source of felicity; they served as a mild outlet to my wild imagination and fuel to my insatiable curiosity. They still do that, and a lot more. They are more like windows to my soul. When I do not have any control over the events in my life (which is almost always), they lead me to a world where my mind can run free and uninterrupted. However, the last two years have made me realize that books have been a lot more than just an escape to an alternate realm; they have rather been guiding me like a teacher.
Like I mentioned above, transitioning from a teen to a teen-adult has been quite an ordeal. Discovering new things about myself, which projected a personal image contrary to social expectations, gave birth to mixed feelings – while I was overjoyed to (finally?) figure myself out, the fear of rejection that stems from this distorted self-perception didn’t stop gnawing at me.
It were those bunches of papers that showed me the way out of that morass. They taught me to see the bigger picture, to focus on the moments of joy interspersed with those of depression and confusion, which, until that point of time, were the only ones to draw my attention. They taught me to tell the things I needed from those I didn’t, along with how I could ignore all the unnecessary commotion generated by the latter. To put it in a nutshell, reading helped me mature and also empathize with people to understand their side of the story. After all, each one of us has one role or the other to play in someone else’s life – we could either be the protagonists or the antagonists in their story.
A NOTE TO OUR READERS
Have you been through the same teenage-induced turmoil as Ripa? What role did books play in shaping your present or making your future more promising? To share your story with us (and get published on Ameya), all you need to do is click on the button below and start typing. You can also send it to us at support@booksameya.in.