It’s funny how when you’re in the middle of something, you don’t really notice the signs the universe gives you. I used to think I was doomed to an unhappy corporate job, because I didn’t know what I wanted, and I wasn’t passionate about anything. Now, looking back, it seems pretty obvious that I was always meant to write. I’m not sure yet how that’s going to go professionally, but it all definitely led to me at least trying.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I never even gave a thought to writing, until after I realized I’d fallen in love with reading in the first place.
As a child, when in a car, I would read all the signs we passed on the streets, I would read all the labels of my snacks and juice boxes. At home, I poured over the encyclopedias about dinosaurs, the universe, the human body, the Earth… When you look at it like that, it does seem like it was a love match from the beginning? How could it not be? Books completely saved my life.
We all tried to make sense of the world, and failed
Not all introverts are the same. Yes, children, we come in all shapes and sizes, like every other person under the sun. But we all do seem to share a past of trying to understand how the world works. Time and time again we tried to fit in, by any means possible. We didn’t realize at the time that this wasn’t because there was something wrong with us. We were just different, in an environment where most of our peers, and even our family were extroverted. It wasn’t their fault either, but ignorance can be just as cruel as intention.
So, for some of us our early years were a constant struggle. For some that struggle hasn’t stopped. Others, they stopped trying to fit into that odd world and started living in their own, doing their thing and being awesome. Those people are my heroes, to be honest.
All of us failed, however, to understand this ‘real’ world. The thing is, that when we read, we come as close as we can to doing that.
Fiction books don’t expect you to be anything other than what you already are. It is you who, when you read, might change, but they’re not actively seeking to do that. They offer what they have to give, and you have the choice of whether to accept that or not.
Think about who you are, who you were, and who you want to be
To be honest, read anything and you should already be on your way to understanding the mysteries of the universe, but read with this particular mindset, and you’ll be halfway there. Being analytical while reading doesn’t happen when you just start, it’s an ability you develop after reading at least 50+ books, and it just improves from there. If you review books then it’s just second nature.
When you draw parallels between yourself, your world, and the situations in a story, it’s like you and the book become one. You see the greed, the violence, the pride and the misconceptions; but you also see the good, the resilience and the selflessness. You experience all that, without having to talk to absolutely anybody.
Once you start reading so many books you can’t even count them, you start seeing yourself in them too. More and more. And so, when you read, you not only understand the world, but yourself; which when you finally do, you realize is more important than understanding the world ever was.
In my case
When I read, I think about those bullied characters, like Courtney Summers’ Regina, from Some Girls Are. This is one of the books I’ve identified with the most. Will write a post about this soon, in fact. Stay tuned for it!
There’s also the books with amazing friendships, and the dystopian ones. I came to understand that people are the product of the home they were raised in. I came to understand empathy, and how in spite of how evil a person may be, and how frustrating it is for me, I can’t blind myself to what’s going on in the other side. Never condoning it. Just understanding it.
Reading is more personal that what most give it credit for
Yes, it’s a deeply personal experience. In order to truly take advantage of what a book has to offer, you must sink in it. It’s not a monologue, with the book telling you stuff and you blindly nodding along. It’s a conversation, at times even an argument. But always two-sided.
Would you like some book recs?
I put together a list of 15 books you might like to read, 5 recs for Fantasy, Contemporary, and Sci-fi, yay!
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Happy reading everyone!
What is the most important thing you’ve learned through reading?
Interesante. Muy interesante lo que escribes. Me suscribí a tu blog porque tienes puntos de vista únicos (como me gusta). Te recomiendo el libro El Poder de los Introvertidos de Susan Cain, yo también soy introvertida y cambió mi vida porque me ayudó a cambiar mi visión. Saludos.
Genial! Voy a agregarlo a mis pendientes. Ser introvertido es tan complicado, y justo hace poco descubri un blog llamado ‘Dear Introvert’ que me encanta por sus reflexiones sobre el tema.
Gracias!
I resonate so much with this post! I’m an introvert as well, and I’ve definitely had that feeling plenty of times in my life of having tried and tried to fit in and always feeling like I’ve failed. The world is definitely adapted to suit extroverts, so it’s easy to feel left out and sidelined as an introvert, and I’ve definitely found a lot of comfort in reading, especially about characters who feel the same as me. Cath from Fangirl is one character who has always stuck out in my mind as being the most relatable to me, and reading about her experiencing some of the same things I have definitely helped me feel less alone. At the same time, I’ve also learnt a lot through reading about characters who are totally different from me, and it’s helped me understand other people better and get a more rounded view of the world.
Awesome post! 🙂
I have yet to read Fangirl but I really want to! I have found bits of myself in lots of books but like I said, Some Girls Are is like my soul book. I think books helped me see that if I wanted to live in my own world, that was ok, but if I didn’t, then I shouldn’t be afraid to speak up here, and be myself 🙂 Yay for books! And thanks!
I agree that reading can be a very personal experience. and that we see ourselves (and others around us!) in the books we read. I feel like I’ve learned to be a much more caring and compassionate person because of reading and I wouldn’t give that up for anything!
That’s a great to have learned! I care much more about what people think and why they do the things they do. Books for the win!