I was the kid who brought a book and flashlight to bed but instead of reading novels or comic books I read history and eventually politics. Sadly, that was only a phase in my adolescence that in looking back, I should have expanded and made a habit. Happily, I’m becoming that kid again, except as a twenty-something on a mission to read fiction.

My course of college study was in political science and history. I have a voracious appetite for history and politics. I love to learn about it because, as Lin Manuel Miranda eloquently rapped in “Hamilton,” “I want to be in the room where it happens,” and be a part of history. For all my study of history and politics, I realized late in my senior year of college that my creative side was not being encouraged as it ought. I still liked TV and drama, movies, comics, painting and sculpture, and especially listening to and performing music, but something was missing. I wasn’t as well-rounded as I knew I could be. I was tired from four years of studying and needed to balance work and pleasure, which is how I made the decision to read more fiction.

Reading not only helps you think more and better, but reading fiction helps you create more and better. I wanted to escape to a different universe, time and place, that no matter how much like the one I lived in was still unique only to the pages between a book's covers. I needed to get back in touch with creating worlds in my head from dialogue and imagery rather than statistics and historical narrative. I wanted a break from being a cliché ever-expanding sponge of information. A Facebook-poll of my friends for suggestions received an overwhelming show of support. I dove into the suggested titles and have enjoyed every page. The experience has reintroduced me to a part of me I didn’t know I missed.

Fiction lets you connect with characters more than historical figures. You also don’t have to lose faith in humanity when the antagonist and villains enter the story because as vivid as it may seem, they and their actions aren’t real, though you may hate the author for killing your favorite character. History tends to not have a happy ending but fiction is a beautiful place where the ending doesn’t have to be 100 percent happy to be good. Fiction, despite its nature of being unreal, manages to find its way into our very real world and become a part of who we are. We laugh, cry, love, sigh, and otherwise empathize with beloved characters and when we reach the last page our senses want more no matter how wild the journey we have completed. There is also something to be said for the ability of fiction to spirit away our minds into the world of the story and to be more creative and original in making the real world more appealing. A Harry Potter cloak to add to your wardrobe from the house of your choice, a Lord of the Rings themed dinnerware set, or the same necklace or color of shoes as your favorite character that inspire you with confidence and courage when you have a big project to present for school or work.

Fiction offers more than an escape from reality; it promotes creativity and gives ideas on how to make a reality worth living. I’m sure I have a list that will last for years from which to continuously draw inspiration.