Books

Books open up gateways to other worlds and take us to places we couldn't dream of otherwise. Books are important in our world and provide us with entertainment as well as memories. We hold an emotional attachment to books, some more than others. Books are magical creations and it takes a skilled author to bring a world in a book alive.

Books are great sources of entertainment and can often remind people of fond times long since past. What do most people do when the power goes out or they get sick of watching television? They reach for a book. Books are always ready to transport us to far away lands and give us insights into cultures and people we otherwise have never experienced. Books are also good as they can contain information and vocabulary that will assist in education. Books are versatile and come in many categories, shapes and sizes. There are adventure books, comedies, romances and mysteries. There are large books, small books, round books and square books. Books that contain facts and books that contain fiction. There are so many different books around us and it takes a curious mind to uncover them (I totally just ripped off an advertisement just then, comment down below on what advertisement you think I copied). People often associate books with memories. Personally, I relate reading "Where's Wally" with happy car-trips with my family when I was young. Others may relate other books to past experiences in their lives. Books hold an emotional connection with people and it isn't until we look back that we realise this.

Often people hold emotional attachments to books and grow to love the characters within them. Sometimes these connections can stem out into obsessions (like Twilight or Harry Potter but not The Hunger Games [you can never be too obsessed with The Hunger Games]). These emotional connections can cause passion about a book and often we can begin to feel empathy for the character we are reading about. We may start to grow feelings of hatred against the antagonist, or feelings of love towards the characters families. Sometimes we even get upset when something sad happens to characters. Marley and Me is a great example of this. I grew an emotional attachment to Marley and so I got upset when, in the end, Marley got sick (especially in the movie, I was actually crying a little) and had to be put down. It is times like these that you realise how skilled the author must be to be able to hook a reader in and have them grow emphatic feelings towards the characters. Good authors are adept at doing this and a great book is one that hooks you in and doesn't let you go until the last word.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Taking Things for Granted

Sometimes we take things for granted and we don't actually appreciate what we have until its already gone. Friends come and go but we don't truly appreciate them until we look back and realise what we miss, the same can also be said for Family. Opportunities around us are also often taken for granted and it isn't until we go without it that we realise that what we had was actually something quite special. We are constantly taking things for granted and it takes something like loss to show us what exactly there was to appreciate.

We often take our Friends and Family for granted and we don't even realise it most of the time. Sure, we appreciate our friends but it isn't until they are gone that we realise how much they really meant to us. We think we know how important they are but until you have lost a friend you can't know how much they mean to you. Friends become a part of you (in a way) and when they go it's like a part of you leaves with them. We are always taking our Family for granted and often wish them away. Sometimes families can be so annoying that we just want to leave and never come back. Sometimes we even wish them to just disappear. Then, one day, one member of your family does (inevitably) die, or go away, and then you realise how much they actually meant to you. You realise how important they were and you notice the things that aren't the same anymore. You may have hated what they did with a passion but it isn't until it stops that you realise how you had grown to become attached to them and what they did. Friends and Family are often taken for granted and sometimes we have to lose someone to know how much they really mean to us.

Opportunities and resources around us are also taken for granted. We often don't actually appreciate that we have running water (and that it is hot AND cold) and sanitary living environments. We don't appreciate that we have a roof over our heads and food in our stomach. We don't appreciate that we don't live in constant thirst and that we have electricity. We don't appreciate public transport and education and all the other resources around us that we use on a daily basis yet are often taken for granted. Sure these systems can sometimes be frustrating and incredibly unreliable but at least we have something to be frustrated at. There are many countries who don't even have a public transport system, or adequate education. Many places don't even have running water or electricity. Sometimes we need to be grateful for what we have even though we may not like it because when it's gone, it might not be coming back.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!