Future Fantasies
Life has funny ways of leading us down certain paths of experience so that we may eventually come to understand what we are supposed to do with our life, and come to terms with our specific purpose in this world. Sometimes life throws those nasty curveballs in our direction which force us to look down different avenues, and contemplate new possibilities that we would otherwise never consider. The journey of finding life’s true calling may be a smooth and easy experience for some resolute people; but for others, such as myself, we are dragged against our wills, kicking and screaming, during the whole process. It does seem, however, that everyone eventually finds, or stumbles upon their purpose; regardless of how great or small that purpose is. Though I have used my desires of becoming a biology major to fight it, I believe my purpose in life is to master the craft of writing and eventually settle down to write novels, or teach English to students while writing novels on the side. Either way, English and writing seems to be my destiny.
My desire to become a biology major was largely spurred by a childhood filled with playing in the woods and endlessly frolicking outdoors. In choosing a major and future career path, it only seemed natural to choose something that I enjoyed and could relate to. Unfortunately, however, my mind was geared towards creativity and not so much towards the analytical thinking required for a successful career as a scientist. Furthermore, math has always been my worst subject, and math is a major tool used by anyone who plans to become a scientist. Since I can remember, my vivid imagination has painted my perceptions of the world around me and has contributed to many fun experiences. I even took those online personality tests, the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, to determine what kind of career I would best fit in and they all said I was an INFP, which is best suited for writers. So the question now remains about how I came to realize that I was meant to become a writer.
It was back in 2006 that I began my journey into the fantasy world of MMORPG’s; in particular Everquest II. I remember sitting at my computer for hours upon hours immersing myself into a world completely different than anything I had ever imagined. When creating my game characters, I would never choose the human races when there were so many other unique options to pick from, such as elves, ogres, and cat-folk. Not long after experiencing the new realms found in these high fantasy games, I turned my attention towards the traditional tabletop game of Dungeons and Dragons. Now D&D, as it is commonly called, is a game that is completely dominated by the imagination as it has no limits except for what the players want to do with their characters. It is a dice game where players have to take on the personalities of their characters and verbally talk out what their characters are doing. There is a guide book of basic rules to add a reference framework to the game for some consistency, but otherwise D&D is a free-for-all world in which the player’s imaginations determine events. Such an imagination sets about a good training ground for any writer to build ideas upon and put them into practice. A writer must have a lively imagination and creativity to breathe life into their work.
Another realization of my love for writing was stemmed from my joy of reading through numerous fantasy novels and books. When I was a kid in elementary school, I completely read through all of R.L. Stein’s Goosebumps series. Some of the Goosebumps were rather scary, but my unquenchable curiosity compelled me to overcome my fears and continue my literary journey through each and every one of his books. Eventually my taste in literature evolved to enjoy such titles as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and Phillip Pullman’s Golden Compass trilogy. These authors projected such a beautiful voice in making their fantasy worlds come to life in the imagination. I could visualize the events taking place as I read. Such adept word craft can be clearly observed through Tolkien’s mix of prose and bits of poetry in rendering magnificent storytelling as can be found in The Hobbit. These masterpieces are truly inspiring, and I couldn’t help but to imagine myself eventually trying my luck with writing such prose one day.
Even with such a colorful and vivid imagination, and love for adventurous literature, I was still unrelenting in my resolve to become a biology major and pursue natural sciences. For the longest time I fought against the grains of my capabilities, and steadfastly held back the powerful waves of reality trying to overtake me. My first semester at Virginia Tech had to finally throw the curveball of fate that would finally strike me out and bring me back to the bench of reality. I finally had to sit down to re-evaluate my abilities and the directions I was taking in my life. My decision did not take long at all. There was no “real” question within me on what I needed to do or what I was to become. I knew it all along. I knew that English and writing was my calling and I no longer could fight against my instincts, my purpose in this world. For the first time in my life, I finally came to terms with who I was and what I was to become an English major and eventual writer.
Life is an endless playground for learning and experiencing new things. Every day we undergo an extensive learning process that is filled with trial and error. It is through such adversities in life that we gain a true sense of ourselves and a more powerful perspective of the world around us. With all this being said, I believe that we should engage ourselves in discovering our purpose in life, and not be afraid of making mistakes here and there. Mistakes add perspective to life of which down the road we can look back at and laugh. Out there, a world of learning and experience patiently waits to be explored. Are we brave enough to step out and see where the journey takes us?
Life has funny ways of leading us down certain paths of experience so that we may eventually come to understand what we are supposed to do with our life, and come to terms with our specific purpose in this world. Sometimes life throws those nasty curveballs in our direction which force us to look down different avenues, and contemplate new possibilities that we would otherwise never consider. The journey of finding life’s true calling may be a smooth and easy experience for some resolute people; but for others, such as myself, we are dragged against our wills, kicking and screaming, during the whole process. It does seem, however, that everyone eventually finds, or stumbles upon their purpose; regardless of how great or small that purpose is. Though I have used my desires of becoming a biology major to fight it, I believe my purpose in life is to master the craft of writing and eventually settle down to write novels, or teach English to students while writing novels on the side. Either way, English and writing seems to be my destiny.
My desire to become a biology major was largely spurred by a childhood filled with playing in the woods and endlessly frolicking outdoors. In choosing a major and future career path, it only seemed natural to choose something that I enjoyed and could relate to. Unfortunately, however, my mind was geared towards creativity and not so much towards the analytical thinking required for a successful career as a scientist. Furthermore, math has always been my worst subject, and math is a major tool used by anyone who plans to become a scientist. Since I can remember, my vivid imagination has painted my perceptions of the world around me and has contributed to many fun experiences. I even took those online personality tests, the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, to determine what kind of career I would best fit in and they all said I was an INFP, which is best suited for writers. So the question now remains about how I came to realize that I was meant to become a writer.
It was back in 2006 that I began my journey into the fantasy world of MMORPG’s; in particular Everquest II. I remember sitting at my computer for hours upon hours immersing myself into a world completely different than anything I had ever imagined. When creating my game characters, I would never choose the human races when there were so many other unique options to pick from, such as elves, ogres, and cat-folk. Not long after experiencing the new realms found in these high fantasy games, I turned my attention towards the traditional tabletop game of Dungeons and Dragons. Now D&D, as it is commonly called, is a game that is completely dominated by the imagination as it has no limits except for what the players want to do with their characters. It is a dice game where players have to take on the personalities of their characters and verbally talk out what their characters are doing. There is a guide book of basic rules to add a reference framework to the game for some consistency, but otherwise D&D is a free-for-all world in which the player’s imaginations determine events. Such an imagination sets about a good training ground for any writer to build ideas upon and put them into practice. A writer must have a lively imagination and creativity to breathe life into their work.
Another realization of my love for writing was stemmed from my joy of reading through numerous fantasy novels and books. When I was a kid in elementary school, I completely read through all of R.L. Stein’s Goosebumps series. Some of the Goosebumps were rather scary, but my unquenchable curiosity compelled me to overcome my fears and continue my literary journey through each and every one of his books. Eventually my taste in literature evolved to enjoy such titles as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and Phillip Pullman’s Golden Compass trilogy. These authors projected such a beautiful voice in making their fantasy worlds come to life in the imagination. I could visualize the events taking place as I read. Such adept word craft can be clearly observed through Tolkien’s mix of prose and bits of poetry in rendering magnificent storytelling as can be found in The Hobbit. These masterpieces are truly inspiring, and I couldn’t help but to imagine myself eventually trying my luck with writing such prose one day.
Even with such a colorful and vivid imagination, and love for adventurous literature, I was still unrelenting in my resolve to become a biology major and pursue natural sciences. For the longest time I fought against the grains of my capabilities, and steadfastly held back the powerful waves of reality trying to overtake me. My first semester at Virginia Tech had to finally throw the curveball of fate that would finally strike me out and bring me back to the bench of reality. I finally had to sit down to re-evaluate my abilities and the directions I was taking in my life. My decision did not take long at all. There was no “real” question within me on what I needed to do or what I was to become. I knew it all along. I knew that English and writing was my calling and I no longer could fight against my instincts, my purpose in this world. For the first time in my life, I finally came to terms with who I was and what I was to become an English major and eventual writer.
Life is an endless playground for learning and experiencing new things. Every day we undergo an extensive learning process that is filled with trial and error. It is through such adversities in life that we gain a true sense of ourselves and a more powerful perspective of the world around us. With all this being said, I believe that we should engage ourselves in discovering our purpose in life, and not be afraid of making mistakes here and there. Mistakes add perspective to life of which down the road we can look back at and laugh. Out there, a world of learning and experience patiently waits to be explored. Are we brave enough to step out and see where the journey takes us?