I have always been fascinated by books ever since I was a young child. There were books that made me laugh, and books that made me cry. There were poems that were amusing, such as Dr. Seuss' work, as well as poems that were profound, such as Maya Angelou's work. I was lost in other worlds when I read the Harry Potter series, and I was burdened with an enormous amount of sorrow while reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, yet some part of me must have enjoyed these stories of woe because I persevered, and read every page of all of Snicket's depressing thirteen books.

As I grew older; I stopped reading books for the most part. When I returned to reading; my tastes were very different. I opted for the romances stricken with tragedy, such as The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, and A Fault in Our Stars by John Greene. I sometimes read stories that were about finding yourself in the world, and how one was meant to live in this world. I read The Alchemist by Paulho Coelho, which is an incredible story and metaphor about a journey to find treasure and what each person the main character meets symbolizes during the journey. In the end; the boy defines treasure very differently than he did in the beginning.

Now that I'm done with my rant about fiction; I'd like to share another rant about how fiction can affect biases in our culture. Some fiction can enforce stereotypes more strongly, and others can break down barriers, even if it is only in an imaginary world. Still others provide dark humor that illustrates stereotypes so much that I think the reader discovers how unfair many of these stereotypes are. One example of this is class. There are many stories in fiction, some more realistic than others of course, about the lives of people who are often somewhat poor, and how much character they build because of their economic situation. The Alchemist is an excellent example of this: A poor boy who is a sheep herder is looking for treasure and he thinks that, if he finds it; it will make him happier.

This is not the case, but he gains many bits of wisdom from every single person he meets on the way. I think this symbolizes life: Treasure is found closer to home than most people think, and material things don't make a person happy, although they certainly don't hurt. It's usually a bonus to buy whatever you want whenever you want it, I'm sure, but that also comes with huge responsibility.My point is; I think it is important to realize one's biases, whatever those might be, acknowledge them, and learn from other people while improving oneself. I think fiction has a way of simultaneously making an impact on someone while allowing the reader to process and learn form the information at hand. The main character from the book realizes in the end that the treasure he was seeking was very close to his home his entire life, and he hadn't been aware of it. I think the true reward he gains, however, is that he discovers who is, who he can be, and how he can learn so much from people coming from many different walks of life.