Reading

Although I don't get the opportunity to read as much as I would like, reading is one of my favorite outlets when I'm having a bad day. I might say I have outgrown the teenage love stories, but occasionally I slip back into reading them to help cheer me up. Sometimes, after you've watched a good movie with a happy ending, you have a feeling of elation surge through you. In my case, I lose sense of reality for a little while. I know what is real and what is not, but I begin to think that certain parts of the movie are part of my own life, or perhaps a better way to put it is I imagine some aspects of my life and that of the character’s life are shared. I get the same feeling when I read a teenage love story. Some people may find the stories depressing to read because when they finish they wish their lives could be the same as the fantasy lives that the author created, but I live through the characters and find satisfaction in their happiness. It is more relaxing to sit down and read a novel than it is to watch a movie, because you have the ability to imagine the characters’ appearances. Each person reading the novel will make different interpretations, while in a movie the same freedom isn’t available. While the feeling I get from watching a movie and reading a novel are the same, I prefer reading the novel because of the chance to use my imagination.