Books Were Not My First Literature

It was not even comics, not children's books with hard bound pages, and not pop-up books. My first literature was television. To a pre-school kid whose only available books  at home were textbooks, newspapers, and magazines, these paper-made objects were just potential toys to be scrapped, torn, cut and turned into boats, airplanes, hats, and puppets (I did not know how to make paper puppets, though).

I learned the classic fairy tales, I got to know the heroes of old and the amazing creatures of modern superhero and science fiction because of the boob tube. Yet, it was the era when the television was treated as the "Idiot Box," because they said that the TV was for idiots and books were for smarties. I guess that this saying is now refuted by the present generation. Besides, if that were so, Sesame Street would not have been the most influential TV show among the kids of my generation.

Superman and the Super Friends were my favorites. There was also Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, starring Ice Man, Fire Star, and of course Spider-Man himself. If we are talking about superhero shows, then I should include in the list the New Adventures of Batman, and joining him were Robin, Batgirl, and Bat-mite. Who would forget the awesome Transformers and G.I. Joe, which were made into movies recently? There also were the Thundercats, Tiger Sharks, M.A.S.K., the Centurions, and many others. Oh, don't forget the super-robot animes from Japan that were fabulously dubbed in English. I may have to reserve a bunch of other articles in order to discuss all my favorite cartoon shows that gave me imaginative adventures and taught me about the reality of good battling against evil.

Growing up with maturity

Now as an adult, I have become a voracious reader and I love to follow an excellent story whenever I find one, whether it is written in a book, serialized on a TV series, or narrated in a critically reviewed motion-picture. Surely, I want my kids to be exposed to good reading and not just TV, movies, and Youtube.

Stories, whether they are fiction or about something that has happened in reality, are what make ideas become worth sharing. They inspire, they warn, and they push human beings to their limits. Humanity has evolved and has reached the level of progress we have now because we shared stories, communicated our ideas, and inspired others with the use of words.

I bet the best gift you can give yourself right now is to go read or watch a good story, and then live the story for yourself.