When writing these blog posts, many times, my mind goes blank. Even though I feel I have something to say, I have difficulties the moment I try to write down my thoughts. However, reading “If You Have Writer’s Block, Maybe You Should Stop Lying”, I think, solved the problem for good. I realized that I was indeed lying: I was trying to write the perfect blogs, I was trying to portray being the smartest and most eloquent writer out there, and, honestly, I had been struggling miserably at doing so.
So, from now on, I will attempt to write posts that incorporate more of my thoughts and personality, that incorporate more of “me”. Instead of trying to come up with some top-notch eloquent text, I will let go of trying to put up a front: I will be writing as close to my heart as possible, to the best of my writing ability, and this post is a testament to that decision.
My journey with reading books has covered the full spectrum of emotions, has had many ups and downs, many set-backs and come-backs. As a kid, I used to hate reading books, and my parents’ efforts to explain why reading was worthwhile always went over my head. Reading was a sort of boring, useless and gruelling activity, which was actively avoided: rarely was I reading, and when I was, it was because the reading was mandatory at school and there was no way around it. So, books were as close to me as they usually are to any punky kid - as close as Mars is to Saturn.
But, I guess, my parents’ advice eventually found its way. At some point during my late teenage years, through a series of fortunate events, I understood the value of reading and started to read. (Maybe I will expand on these events at a later stage, as I don’t want to take you away too much from the subject of this post.)
However, not long after, the vertigo of uni and, especially, the technical nature of my studies made it difficult for me to read. Even though I wanted to, I had much less time to open a book and read all day, as I had to focus on solving other problems, such as figuring out student life. So, reading slightly faded out of my activities, up to the point where it was completely gone from my priorities.
But, I’m back. Somehow, I figured out a way to include reading back again into my activities, and align it with my profession. Besides just for the fun of it, I mainly read for two reasons: enriching my vocabulary and improving my writing. Specifically, (1) I write down unknown words and expressions I find interesting, and (2) I write my thoughts after reading a particular book. So, reading and writing helps me become more articulate.
I’ve already appended the unknown words encountered when reading Lord of the Flies. So, what are my thoughts after reading it?
I wished that the “newborn” boy society on the island had gravitated to a state of peace and order - the ideal scenario, I guess, in that type of situation. Unoriginally, I was rooting for the protagonist and hoping for his common sense and wisdom to prevail. But, oh boy, was I delusional. I was making the same mistake as the protagonist: wishful thinking. So, here’s one of the most valuable lessons from the book, a lesson that sometimes needs remembering: even if you like it or not, life is not always played by the book, and those who are unaware of it can suffer terrible consequences.
I get it: we all see the world through our frames and biases, and it isn't easy to see things differently. However, no one cares. If you fail to cover the full spectrum of good and evil, even if you like it or not, failing at doing so might get you burnt; in the book, some of the kids that fail to cover this spectrum suffer maybe the ultimate consequence: death. In a way, preparing for the worst and acknowledging the eventuality of evil can help one prevent catastrophe and pain in the first place.
Anyhow, what I mean is not for you to be prepared to die when grocery shopping or when grabbing a coffee, but rather to stay awake and assess reality based on validated assumptions rather than on delusion and wishful thinking. It makes sense in theory but is harder to apply in practice: it requires incomparably more effort to question what’s happening around you than blindly assuming that the world is how you think it is. So, “Now, what’s it gonna be, doc?”
Overall, I resonated with the book, as, again, unoriginally, it made me remember that age: the friendships, the joys, the experiences, the fights, the good and the evil.