“I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one. . . . Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil. . . . There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?” (East of Eden, John Steinbeck)


I pulled myself out of the pages and looked over at the clock-10:43. I let out a sigh and reluctantly closed my book, silently cursing myself for putting off my homework…..again. My mother was not too happy about my procrastinating skills either. “Meg, you have homework to finish, why waste your time reading?” she asks me. Shrugging her question off like usual, I reply, “Oh, I don’t know, mom. No worries though, I don’t have that much homework.” After she goes off to bed, appeased, I rush through my homework and continue reading into the late hours: a typical Saturday night. The next morning, I am barely awake, practically sleep walking. But I do not care, I finished my book.
The reason I stayed up all night finishing my book is to simply keep myself sane. What would I have left if I did not read? A boring, routine life: I wake up, go to school, go home, do my homework; rinse and repeat. I immerse myself into books because I strive for the adventure within. While I go through my mundane high school existence, books are my outlet. By reading, I experience all kinds of adventures; one day I am a teenage wizard battling the dark lord, the next I am a hobbit on a quest to save middle earth. Every time I pick up a book, I am on another journey, forgetting about the math test on Tuesday or the essay due tomorrow. Right now, I am stuck in school, but these escapades make my life bearable.
Reading allows me to experience all kinds of things I never would have thought possible. The average person is not carried home during the “witching hour” by the Big Friendly Giant or traumatized by Pennywise the Dancing Clown. No matter how hard we try, we cannot do it all; but, by reading, I have the chance to experience more than I ever could by myself. Books give me adventures when I am unable to have my own. They give me an escape from my repetitious and common life. Books are my passion, they keep my story going.
Everyone needs something that makes life fun, exciting, and sufferable. For we all need a little escape from our humdrum lives every now and then. I believe everyone needs a passion. Ultimately, I believe in books, my never-ending adventure.