[Thinhyandoiel]

Well well well! I am enjoying reading this thread. And what an interesting paper it sounds like its going to be! I wish you well on that!

Now for my answer.
Fantasy has always been an escape for me. Whenever I was alone, there would be my little world in which I had herds of horses, falcons, wolves and dragons to manage. There were no humans, and I liked that. I was their creator, and each herd leader was my own personal vassal. This world existed when I was 5-9, and indeed it exists even now. I have simply released my herds from my service so to speak, as they have served their purpose, which was my personal escape from the pressures and tauntings of other children. After that, grade four and five came. I had found some valuable friends which released my hold on my worlds as escape routes, and I began to live solely in this world. Life was fine, I read purely for information and enjoyment, having found a great interest in Greek and Roman mythology and also in the cosmos and in archaelogy. I became quite a bookworm, and was even called the 'human dictionary' because I never spelt anything wrong. In grade six we read a book called "Bride to Terebithia" in which two young children make their own world in the forest behind their homes. To enter, you needed to swing across a small ravine and inside it was filled with many wondrous things that had me recalling my own world. It was a pleasant reminder, but I had no use for it. Yet.
Junior High came in which I was forced to call upon it again. I was not considered 'popular' and in fact I did not, nor will I ever, give a damn about what I am considered to be. However, my anger and my frustrations with what my friends had become had to be ventilated. I was hurt, in a way, because they would no longer talk to me. But they, in my world, I had banished (even though they had never been there). It was a pleasant thought. I, however, grew out of that world once more. And I made a new one. Why? I felt that my old world was too juvenile, and I wanted it to remain a memory of my childhood. My new world consisted of Faeries and Wizards and Goblins and I was the hero. If say, Cristina was starting to really annoy me (as she always has and always will), I would paste her face on one of the Goblins heads and prepare for a massive hunt. I know this wasn't the best way to deal with my frustrations and feelings, and I know now that it would not serve me as well as it did then. Now, after junior high, high school, in which I am presently enrolled, came. I had discovered I have a talent for writing. Indeed my best subject was and still is English. After I read "Urshurak" which I borrowed from my mentor uncle, I was enthralled once more. I began to search for fantasy novels of any kind, and still I had not heard of Tolkien. In grade 11 I was wandering the library during a spare and came across the Hobbit. I recalled my sister had read it in Grade 6, and I was so befuddled as to what a Hobbit was. The rest of that discovery is history. But I find my current use for fantasy is not only escape, but for learning and discovery. It is now also an art. Having started to write my own fantasy, I now escape into that world in which I have no role. I am merely an observer and that suits me just fine. In this place I use my characters as a way to deal with serious issues. Indeed racism has been a very serious issue with me as I am Metis (half native, half french) and I have noticed I unintentionally have incorporated this into my story. I have no plans to remove it, as this 'place' seems like a good place to resolve my own feelings towards the issue.

That is all I feel like telling. You may use whatever you find useful, though I doubt you will. If you do, though, glad to be of service! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] Good luck!