Sometimes, writers block hits you. And sometimes, the block lasts for years. For me, it’s been about 17 years, go figure. Really, I’ve never written anything worthwhile in my entire life. I’ve always been fascinated by people’s imaginations. Huge monsters that have spindly legs and blue eyes, impossible sea creatures. Sharks living in volcanoes. These are all things my little sisters tells me about in her dreams. Sometimes, the things she talks about are things she should never even know about. She told me the other day that her Orange Juice killed his wife and they didn’t have enough evidence to convict him. (There’s a reference in there somewhere, I’m sure)

But really, I’ve never been able to sit down, and write a decent story. So when other people do, it’s amazing to me. One novel I have loved since the day I read it, is Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman. I’ve heard that there have been additions to the book, and it has been made into a series, but I have never been able to get my hands on them. And that really makes me upset.

The book was wonderful, it’s got a love story in it that made me roll my eyes a little bit, but the idea was insane. Division of people based on race, and about the Liberation group that wanted to eradicate the divide. Simple, I know. But the way Blackman writes was so beautiful, I fell in love with the characters and the story. Even the love part of it wasn’t nauseating like I figured it would be when my 8th grade English teacher threw it at me for a book report.

Maybe that’s how you grow as a reader, finding something you are uncomfortable with, and reading about it. Maybe that’s why teachers like to choose books for us during our classes and force us to read it. It could be just to open our eyes to something deeper, or get us to see something that was right in front of us all along. Who knows. I really hate when teachers choose books for us, but some kids like it for some reason. I do have to say, that there have been more times I have loved the books I’ve read, rather than hated them. But one book I have always hated, I read back in primary school. It was called Muggie Maggie, all about this girl who couldn’t write in cursive correctly so her name looked like “Muggie” instead of “Maggie”. Absolutely dreadful, I do not recommend. I even went to my teacher and asked if I could get a different book, because I was not interested in Muggie one little bit. She laughed and said to go back to my desk.

I still have the book. I figured since it was so important to her that I read the book, I might as well keep it forever. You know, so I could finish it. It’s been 11 years, I don’t think I’m ever going to finish it. And frankly, I am quite alright with that.

So not every time Ive read something has it been interesting or a good story. Especially not in primary school, I swear the library only had books that were at max, 30 pages long. The only good thing about reading in primary was that I learned to read, and that I could check out Mary Kate and Ashley Passport to Paris over and over again. Lord, I do not miss elementary school.

I think I have grown a lot as a reader over the years. And you would think at this point I would have at least some remnants of an imagination, but it looks like I have never picked that up. It seems that the kids who hated school in elementary and middle school, are the ones with the most active imaginations.

I wonder if there is a correlation?

-Sophisticated