As Thanksgiving approaches and we begin to celebrate all that we are thankful for, we begin to realize how lucky many of us are. To be surrounded by family and friends, healthy, educated, and so on. But one of the many things I’ve realized that I am thankful for is the art of stories and storytelling.

Without stories, our lives wouldn’t be the same—a far cry from our current circumstances, in fact. Life would be dull and ultimately meaningless. We wouldn’t have films, novels, television shows, mythology, pieces of art, etc. So we should show appreciation for the things that make our lives brighter and more colorful.

One story that shaped me as a child and quite literally made me who I am today is the Harry Potter series by Joanne Rowling (or J.K Rowling). Of course, there were flaws, to both the story and the author, but the meaning stuck with me despite this. To never give up. There was something awe-inspiring about how Harry ventured into this new world, filled with magic and wizards, the complete opposite of his ordinary, mundane world. And how he simultaneously learned to become a wizard while struggling to battle trials and trouble that he could never seem to escape. Despite all of his challenges, Harry ends up victorious and free to live in peace from Voldemort and his cult of dark wizards.

Outside of the plot, however, the wizarding world was enthralling to me as a child, and still is as a matter of fact. I found the idea of moving paintings with an impossible amount of personality and life, medieval castles with moving staircases, mythical creatures, and more incredibly intriguing. The storytelling made the universe feel real and most certainly made me wish for a letter from Hogwarts when I turned eleven.

Another example of a brilliant story is the series All for the Game. It is graphic, to say the least, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it for the faint of heart, nor anyone below the age of fourteen. Its contents include murder, mafia organizations, assault, and so on, so if violence isn’t your cup of tea, I certainly wouldn’t recommend reading this series. But it’s difficult not to admit that the story has an undeniable allure to it. Neil Josten, the protagonist, is a traumatized teenager who gives up running from his past in exchange to achieve his greatest desire, playing Exy (a violent combination of lacrosse and hockey). 

The overall purpose, from an audience’s perspective, is that despite everything that comes your way, you should try your best to be happy. Neil learns this the hard way as he faces his inner demons, his family and the pain they inflicted upon him, mafia leaders, and extremely violent Exy players, things we have never had to face. But the series teaches and encourages a sense of respect towards Neil and his strength, which is irrefutable. And along the way, he manages to have his own little family, made up of a number of equally damaged and struggling Exy players, and gain the ability to find solace in others.

Stories build us as children, teaching us lessons and transporting us to times and places that we never could have imagined otherwise. This is why I must stress the importance of stories and storytelling, and how thankful we should be for all the works bursting with imagination and creativity that we are gifted with.

Graphics courtesy of WIKIMEDIA.COMMONS.ORG