In the soloist, Nathaniel often escapes into his world of
music, where there is beauty and order in Beethoven and his violin. He does not see, however, that his reality is
not so beautiful. My situation may not
be as severe as Nathaniel’s, but I can sympathize with wanting some form of
mental escape when it’s not possible to physically leave the problem.
My escape is entering someone else’s world, adopting another person's worries and troubles. Growing up, that meant reading fiction
novels, Harry Potter, Gone, and any vampire romance were my
favorites. It was so easy to slip into
the drama of defeating an evil wizard and having a vampire-soulmate that I could
easily forget my own troubles. My tastes,
though, have somewhat changed. I prefer
to watch the movie or subsequent television show rather than read the original
book, and I am even preferring comedy to dramas. I do love to read still, but I am losing my
taste for fiction.
Another escape that I have recently found is music. Unlike Nathaniel, however, I cannot play any
instruments, but I do love to listen. Lately,
my heart sings at the soulful tunes of Ed Sheeran and acoustic instrumentals of
Hozier. But my favorite thing to do with music is to dance. Growing up, I didn’t always like dancing because
I was so clumsy, but I loved watching others dance, the way a ballerina could
execute a spin into an arabesque, the
liveliness of jazz, and the expression of pain and love on a praise dancer. It was
all so beautiful. It wasn’t until I was
15 that I realized how much I loved it. Though
I am not particularly talented, dancing is an escape for me, an expression of
music and motion through movement.
Through whatever means, “escape” must give me a much needed
break from my thoughts. When I am absorbed
in the world of music, books, or television dramas, I am no longer consumed
with worry. I can step away from all that
and focus on something that isn’t troubling.
Escaping keeps me grounded; by leaving my problems behind, I realize
that they aren’t so big, that they are fixable.
Sometimes, however, I escape for too long. I get so absorbed in the book or television
show that I neglect my duties. Instead
of writing my term paper or studying for tests, I’m reading the latest Percy Jackson book, or
binge-watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or
The Walking Dead. I conveniently forget that I have work to do
and, like Nathaniel, I don’t always do what needs to be done. My methods of escape work a little too
well. I have to learn to manage my life,
and so does Nathaniel. Though he may
never be normal, his problems can be managed, with effort and time.
So, is your world worth stepping into?
Khala Harvey
Bridges
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