"Wrinkles in Time"

It began with an obsession with Greek and Norse mythology that had been honed by two books I acquired in third grade: D'Aulaires' Books of Greek Myths and Norse Myths.

It may even have begun with a creative fascination at an early age with the Visual Arts, and the "stories" told through that particular medium.

But from the moment I heard that first story of The Time Quartet, I was captivated by the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre: I longed to tell similar stories of my own devising, and I grew to know and love Meg and Charles Wallace Murry, the main protagonists of "A Wrinkle in Time" as if they were members of my own family.

I suppose the reason why these characters resonated with me so profoundly, was because the more I learned of them, the more I discovered that I had so much in common with them.
Like me, Meg Murry was also a socially awkward outcast among classmates and peers who failed to truly understand us. Like me, she was the older of a pair of siblings, with a younger brother whom had not spoken a word until the age of five, and then at that time, had begun speaking in clear, complete, and coherent sentences. Like me she had the challenging responsibility of being the protective older sibling of a younger one whom everyone thought would be developmentally delayed....but had instead turned out to be an extraordinarily gifted prodigy.

I learned to closely examine my own life by studying it through the lenses of different stories I encountered.
I further learned to take note of and record significant historical events for the sake of remembering them and learning from them later: for what else is history, except a story told from a particular person's point of view?

I also slowly came to understand the secret that many artist and writers already knew, and had summed up through this adage:
If you don't like the world you find yourself in, then dream up a new one; and work hard to create it.
Another lesson I've learned is that one should endeavor to make a profession out of one's PASSION.
That's a lesson I learned and lost over the years; and one that I've found necessary to periodically "re-teach" myself. I'm currently experiencing just such a time of "reeducation".

Hopefully, I can also learn to not only have more faith in my ability, but to also realize that true contentment lies in retaining that lesson, and effectively applying it to the affairs of life.
By doing so, only then can I create my own "wrinkles in time"-traveling though space and time, creating and recreating the world into the one I want to live in.