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I am not sure when exactly it happened. I cannot even tell you which book or film or TV show set it off... not really. However, I do know that since the first time I entered high school and took my first English Literature class I needed my essay writing skills to be the best they could be.
In primary school it was a collection of Enid Blyton books that whisked my tiny, eager, imaginative mind away to some of the branches of The Magic Far Away tree with the help of Joe, Beth and Frannie and showed me books are great companions to have. In secondary school it was a combination of The Gods Are Not to Blame, The Merchant of Venice and Purple Hibiscus that convinced me time was better spent exploring the wor(l)ds bound to their spines. In Sixth Form, however, the books that filled my days with wonder were not read in class rooms but instead devoured in my bedroom or the school common room or the grassy field that called my name that day. Why? Well, it was a time in my life where I felt like I had to make a choice between the sciences and literature in terms of my career and I leaned one way over the other resulting in me studying the realities and scientific complexities of this world over others.
I don't know about you but I do my best thinking and dreaming in my bedroom. It is where I can be whoever I want to be; I can test out theories and fail with zero pressure.
In my bedroom as a soon-to-be ten year old, The Baby Sitters' Club and Mary-Kate and Ashley's So Little Time series ruled. In my bedroom as a young, impressionable teenager it was the Harry Potter books whose world kept on expanding and in turn amplifying my ability to conjure up the impossible in vivid ways. In my bedroom as a supposedly wiser teen about to head into university it was the Twilight series and Where Rainbows End who gave me comfort in book form. In my bedroom I not only consumed stories, I also wrote many of my own - they were awful! but incredibly fun to write.
I don't know about you but I am scared of having people hate or laugh at something I have created, always have been. It is probably the reason I did not take English Lit. as an A-Level as, to me anyways, so much of you lies within your essays no matter how badly or succinctly they were written.
In university I dreamt of what it would have been like to study Film or English Literature instead of Chemical Engineering and what the A-Levels required to take those courses were like. After graduation and a few years of working and saving I dreamt of what it would be like to take that A-Level subject I always wanted to. And so, in the safe confines of my bedroom, the place where theories can be tested and failure can be had with zero pressure, I took a step towards that dream. I have my course materials and will use the next year to teach myself a fraction of what I have wanted and still want to learn about the use of language in sharing ideas and thoughts and view and much more in a format that is very familiar to me. I will, however, not be taking the exam because it costs £370 and it is too expensive for me I am not sure if it is the right form of assessment for me at this point in time. I could always share my essays on here and let us be the judge.
I am not sure about your school experience but despite the choices I made in terms of the subjects I studied I still enjoyed my time learning something new. If you have the chance of having free education then cherish it and make choices that are both beneficial and true to you. However, do keep it in mind that although it is possible to change your mind down the line, as our interests will inevitably evolve over time, it does not come without a price. The question is will you still be willing to pay it?