Bonus essay

     A little girl is ensconced in a huge, comfortable couch with a thick book on her lap. She is so thoroughly absorbed in the book that even the sound of a thousand horses thumping on the ground would fail to draw her attention. Finally, she breaks out of her world of fantasies by flipping the last page with a sigh.

     An ordinary girl who reads and dreams in her own small eggshell world has long been the image that I have of myself. I would read and read until the end, and would always sigh out of reluctance to end the magic. It is almost religious, the way I take in and savor each word. Deep inside my heart are ideas carefully selected from the books and sprinkled with my views of the world. These ideas guide me through important decisions in life. These valuable second hand life experiences offered by authors gained me, as some of my friends put it, 'an aura of maturity'. However, at times I am quite childish, filled with lighthearted imaginations fit for a six-year-old.

     Daydreaming is a huge part of my life. It offers a temporary hideout from the real world, although it may not last forever. Whenever I feel that I cannot stand the reality, I creep behind some thick curtains of imagination with a good book, two if I'm especially depressed. It gives me the courage to form some hope about the unexpected future, and lift my head up high with a smile. I never hide the fact that I hide, because I hide to prepare myself for a better shot at life.

     I love everything around me. Some great books start from paying attention to small things, and the habit of reading such books has made me look at each tiny insect, each blade of grass, each little child and each pebble with attention and care. I love to look for tiny flowers between roadblocks or ladybugs behind leaves. Such discoveries offer pieces of happiness that I have learned to treasure. Recently I have been fascinated in photography, in which knowledge about cameras, a little bit of luck and reverie are combined to create an effective scene that precisely catches the point. My interest, however, is not limited in photography. I adore all forms of art that depict the world around us, such as paintings, movies, songs, literature and many more. Among them I am especially intrigued by the use of language.

     I am around 150centimeters, less than enough to impress anyone in reality. However, with words I can express everything that my body cannot. I can peel off the image of the 'short kid' or of 'the boring bookworm' and introduce my interesting, humorous, original self without any limits. Also, I love the process of putting my imagination into words. Every time I write something I create a new world which is in itself truly wonderful. I can even love the writer's block, because choosing words that would best describe my feelings, though painful, is an enjoyable task. It is a pain that I would take with pleasure.

     I am a dreamer, and after this comma I can write anything, anything that describes myself. I love the smell of ancient books. I love to spend an entire afternoon just staring at the sky. I always wish to ride over clouds, although I repeatedly learn at school that they are made out of small droplets of water. I love to write. I adore every single process of writing, even the most painful ones.

     The little girl has now come to the middle of her wonderful fantasies. There has been difficulties. There have been some moments when giving up seemed to be the best choice to make. However, she will go on, because she is a dreamer. She will someday end her book, but not as she ended other books; not with a sigh of reluctance but with a smile of satisfaction.