What do you do when you feel abandoned? When you feel like no one cares and that you have nothing left? What do you do when you’ve lost all hope? I’ll tell you what you do. You dive deep into the depths of your imagination. It sounds elementary, like something a little kid would do, but it works, or at least that’s what I, Katy, keep telling myself.
I’m a quiet, shy girl of the age of sixteen. I don’t have many friends, mainly because of how shy I am. I spend all of my time studying, so those few friends that I do have rarely hang out with me because they always assume I am busy studying. This makes me feel even worse about myself, making me feel like they always forget about me.
I feel the same way about my family, too. Both of my parents work at very demanding jobs, making them work crazy and unpredictable hours of the day. When my parents are home, they fawn over my ten year old sister, Amelia, giving her their full attention and barely noticing me. I’m lucky if I even get a hello most days. They couldn’t care less about me. As long as Amelia is happy and doing well, they’re happy.

Basically my life is a living hell. I lock myself in my room all day, not leaving unless I absolutely have to. I live a lonely, sad life, waiting until I can go to college and finally reinvent myself so I can finally be happy. Until then, I imagine what it will be like. I imagine the future as a better place, where I’m outgoing and beautiful. It’s a place where I have tons of friends, yet still manage to do well in each and every one of my classes. I know some of the things that I imagine won’t come true, but isn’t that the fun of using your imagination?

When you imagine things, anything that you want to happen can happen. You can imagine yourself being an astronaut or a doctor, or even a dragon slayer if you so desired. Your imagination can take you on a journey anywhere you want. It’s like a secret world that no one else knows about. Your most incredulous and embarrassing desires can occur in your imagination, and no one knows about them. It’s a secret world that sets you free from life.

The best part of using your imagination is the joy it brings you. These crazy scenarios that you concoct in your head can bring the greatest joy to you. If you close your eyes, you can pretend that you are actually there, living and breathing in your imagination, almost as if you are slipping into another world. They can let you escape from the troubles of life and forget about them for a little while. That alone can bring you a joy that nothing else can bring you. I mean, what’s better than forgetting about those horrible grades you are getting in English class? So the next time you are feeling down, try using your imagination to lift your spirits. I guarantee it will help. It always works for me.