The Bookworm

I can still recall the afternoons during my first year high school. When all the students rush towards the gate, can hardly wait to go home, I on the other hand would rush at our school library anticipating an adventure for lifetime. At 4:00 o' clock I went directly to the library (except on days our group were assigned to clean the classroom) and go to the classic section and decide which book to read this time. As I enter the library, I would see teacher Ofelia, our librarian make a funny smirk, as she saw me coming. I know she'll be irritated again with me asking too many questions about which books are good to read or if I were allowed to borrow five books at a time... but I know she's glad at least a boy (and rarely at that) got some interest in reading.

It's a boring day!

By that time, I got tired reading Bible children stories with pictures so I decided to read more "difficult" books. Difficult means that the story is longer and the words are harder to understand. I decided to "conquer" Alice In Wonderland. Although, the way the story is presented bored me, I did not stop reading. There are times that there are certain words that are hard to understand. I jot them down in a paper and look for its meaning afterwards. There are also times that I could not understand a whole paragraph and had to read it twice or thrice just to get the point. Everyday, I faithfully turn page after page - how Alice followed the white rabbit, how she swam in her own tears, how she met the cheshire cat and the mad hatter and how she bravely faced the queen of cards and consoled the lonely turtle (or was it a tortoise?). It was worth it and from that time on, I can't stop reading every book that my teachers require me to read - science, history, mythology and classics. The first pocketbook I got to finish was "Little Lord Fauntleroy", it's the story of Cedric Errol (I know most of you are a fan of the famous cartoon series) and next was "A Little Princess" (Yeah, it's again the famous Sarah Crewe). In my fourth year, our English teacher (She's my most favorite teacher of all time) had a knack for Greek and Roman Mythology - so we studied Cupid and Psyche (which was a fantastic story of sacrificial love), Perseus, The Gorgons and even Iliad and Odyssey (which we later as a class made into a play).

Later on our teacher (same one) required us to make a short story. I'm so excited because I know I'll be applying the different styles of the stories I have read. I was so much into animé at that time (and who wasn't until now?) so I made a story set in ancient Japan about a young man who's father just died and had to live with a distant uncle who owns a dojo. There he learned the ways of the dojo, have to endure his uncle's detestable temper, and befriend a rather shy and insecure girl and helped her to like her being herself. It was a story of how a young man grew out of his own fears and took risks to touch other's lives despite himself. The mood was quite peaceful, not overly dramatic, with gentle humor and yet very touching. I know my story was very good because I got the highest score in our class! Thanks for all the readings.

The Fountainhead by Rand

After that, even if I had graduated from high school, I still continue to read: Engineering books mostly and afterwards, l got to love Humanities: movie-making, architecture, the visual arts and everything. We studied Picasso, Donatello, Michelangelo and da Vinci and their famous Sistine Chapel painting. Later on I got into Philosophy with all its mind-boggling yet eye-opening ideas. Because of it, I got to hate God and felt I don't need him. I admired Ayn Rand, Sarte, Kierkegaard, St. Thomas Aquinas and felt I had to gain all the wisdom in the world. I got so full of myself and felt I'm the wisest reader in the world: I know things that "common" people do not, I despise what I think is "narrow-minded" thinking and refuse to listen with mediocre ideas. But something happend to me and before I know it, I was down and helpless and death was just a half-step lower. I tried to re-condition myself as if mind would win over matter but it did not, I was lost until one day I saw the familiar book I have forgotten many years ago. It still had its torn pages filled with pictures. I got to see the picture and saw a baby lying in a bed of hay. I smiled and the reading continues... and the reading saved me.

I know God gave me this wonderful gift to get to Him and I believe that He is using it to get into you, readers, to get to know Him. You know that "book" - it might be lying on a corner with it's top full of dust, unused for many years. It is waiting for you to open it and explore its adventures worth for an eternity! God Bless Us All!

Afterword: The bookworm currently reads all sorts of books: Christian and Psychological books mostly but he also enjoys mysterious and adventure books and books that require him to think 'till he goes insane (just joking). Books by Neil Gaiman (Stardust, American Gods, Neverwhere), JK Rowling (Harry Potter), CS Lewis (Narnia), Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie, 5 People You Meet in Heaven) are among his many favorites.