Shystoyteller

I love reading, and I read almost anything I can get my hands on. It’s like eating different varieties of food—everything provides different nutrition and fulfills a different need. In our world of bite-sized content and shrinking attention spans, I’ve found that different forms of reading serve different purposes in my life, each offering unique lessons and perspectives that have shaped who I am today.

The Magic of Fairy Tales: Where It All Began

Like many readers, fairy tales were an important part of my reading journey- right at the beginning. I started reading fairy tales, and I guess I never stopped. Over the years, I’ve read many different versions of the same tales from all over the world, watching as childhood memories gave way to more mature lessons and themes.

Every time I read a fairy tale, regardless of the version, I learn something new and gain a fresh perspective. While the tales are all different from each other and each version is unique in its own way, some lessons remain universal:

Fairy tales showed me that the world is full of magic—maybe not in the way you expect it to be, but the magic is there should you choose to look a little deeper. They tell me that in every tale, there are things that are easily visible, things I can see directly, yet there are also things I’m unaware of—things that will reveal themselves in their own time.

These stories taught me that challenges exist for everyone, and these challenges can be overcome—we just need to be resilient and persevere. Life and its challenges come in all shapes and sizes. No challenge is heavier or lighter than others; they are simply unique.

As an adult, I discovered versions that told me not all stories end with “And they lived happily ever after.” They showed me that where we choose to end the story plays a major role in whether there’s a happy ending or not. End the story just before disaster strikes, and you can achieve a happy ending.

Perhaps most importantly, fairy tales taught me to look at stories from different perspectives. A villain might be the hero in their own story. These tales provide moral guidance and show me that some things are universal—morals remain the same no matter which part of the world they come from.

The most hard-hitting lesson was that sometimes love that seems magical is just an illusion.

The Depth of Long-Form Essays and Articles

In our current landscape of abundant short-form, bite-sized content, long-form essays and articles serve a crucial purpose. They give me enough perspective to examine a topic from many different directions, allowing me to compare and contrast ideas thoroughly.

Sometimes, I need to read about the same subject from different perspectives to get the complete picture—a holistic view that only comes from deep exploration. These pieces make me slow down and think deeper in a world where everything seems so rushed.

Long-form writing provides more references and context, helping me understand and connect to related topics, whether they present similar or different opinions. Generally, they avoid being rage bait—they don’t deliberately provoke extreme emotions (though I have encountered some exceptions). Most importantly, they help me learn more, as reading remains my preferred mode of learning.

The Patient Journey of Full-Length Books

Whether fiction or non-fiction, full-length books teach me patience. They take time to finish and require dedication to grasp the concepts they explore—a lesson in delayed gratification that’s increasingly rare in our instant-access world.

Books help me slow down, making me calmer and bringing life and time into perspective. Everything doesn’t need to be so rushed. While fiction takes me away from reality, non-fiction shows me different sides of reality—I need both at different times.

These longer works help me grow and make me feel various emotions. They allow me to experience life and explore the world from the comfort of my own home, living vicariously through characters and real-life stories. Sometimes it’s important to slow down and experience something deeply—to get completely immersed in the experience.

The Concentrated Power of Short Stories and Poems

Short stories and poems show me the impact and beauty of words in their most concentrated form. They play with emotions more directly, getting straight to the action without unnecessary fluff while still packing tremendous emotional punch.

These forms show me new kinds of worlds and evoke emotions I might not have encountered otherwise. They help me learn new writing techniques and often feature innovative and experimental content that’s fun to explore. In their brevity, they demonstrate how much meaning can be packed into a small space.

Fan Fiction: The Art of What If

The first time I ever thought about writing was when I finished reading “Little Women,” simply because I hated the ending. Without spoiling too much, let me say that a particular death broke my heart completely.

Back then, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as fan fiction, but that’s exactly what I wanted to do—write an ending for “Little Women” that would be more suited to my heart’s desires.

This experience brought me back to a fundamental truth: sometimes (or most of the time) life doesn’t go as we want it to go. In these moments, it’s tempting to rewrite our own life stories—to rewrite that conversation, change that decision, take a different path. Essentially, we want to write fan fiction of our own lives.

I constantly imagine new scenarios, whether in TV shows, movies, or even my own life. Fan fiction helps me prepare for different scenarios by imagining the same situation from various angles. When you read fan fiction, you encounter the same characters and locations, but each writer takes a different approach—a different way to handle the same situation.

It’s a safe way to explore different situations and decisions, allowing us to experiment with possibilities without real-world consequences.

The Nourishment of Diverse Reading

Just as our bodies need different nutrients to thrive, our minds need different types of reading to grow and develop fully. Each form of literature serves its purpose: fairy tales teach us about universal truths and the magic hidden in everyday life, long-form pieces help us think deeply and critically, full-length books teach patience and provide immersive experiences, short forms show us the power of concise expression, and fan fiction lets us explore alternative possibilities.

In a world that often pushes us toward faster consumption and shorter attention spans, I’ve found that maintaining a diverse reading diet keeps me grounded, thoughtful, and constantly learning. Every book, every story, every essay adds another layer to my understanding of the world and myself.

Reading isn’t just a hobby for me—it’s a way of living, learning, and growing that I wouldn’t trade for anything.