Growing up in Middle-earth
Mar. 10th, 2013 08:21 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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b2memB2MeM Challenge: Wildcard (Athelas)
Format: Non-Fiction
Genre: personal essay, autobiographical
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Characters: Me, Frodo, Bilbo
Pairings: None
Summary: My childhood in a family of Tolkien admirers
I feel like I'm stepping up on stage as this is my first post here, but I thought it a nice introduction topic so here goes. I can’t remember the first time I learned of Middle-earth, because I practically grew up there. One of my earliest memories is of my Grandfather telling me the story of the Hobbit, only he pretended it happened to him. He even held up a gold ring (which I later learned was his wedding ring) to prove it. I grew up watching the cartoons and eating dinner on our dinning room table that’s painted with a map of middle-earth. My sister and I would act out different scenes and even my parents would sometimes join in.
In first grade, when we were asked to write what we wanted to be when we grew up, I wrote down “Burglar.” Shocked that I, a usually obedient and well-behaved student, would give such an answer, my teacher struggled to keep her voice calm when asking why.
My response was this: “Because I want to go on a quest and fight dragons like Bilbo.”
The Lord of the Rings was more than just a story for me: it was the inspiration for my childhood. I was constantly living in a made-up world where I was helping Bilbo slay spiders in Mirkwood or dodging Ringwraiths with Merry and Pippin. For some strange reason, my favorite scene to act out was when Frodo was stabbed by the Ringwraith. For years, when I was ill or feeling bad, I would turn to that chapter and start reading. Why? I wish I knew, but I think it has something to do with the other hobbits’ reactions. You can see the love Sam, Merry, and Pippin have for Frodo in their worry for him. More than the magic and excitement of middle-earth, the thing that really got to me and kept calling me back was the friendship between those four hobbits.
I was always looking for friends like that. When I was eight, I made friends with a girl across the street because we needed someone to be Sam and I thought she fit the part. She had never heard of the Lord of the Rings, so I showed her the cartoons and, later, the movies. To this day, she is still one of my closest friends (and a Tolkien fan).
In high school, my mother inexplicably came down with an awful illness that left her bedridden for months. My sister and I turned to Lord of the Rings for hope. We took turns reading as different characters and reminiscing over old stories we’d made up.
So while I never got to go on a quest and fight dragons like Bilbo (at least, not yet), I did find amazing friends who’ve followed me through tasks beyond my wildest dreams and become close to my own family. The characters have each given me strength at different times in my life, and Tolkien has given me a world to escape to when I need it most. I’ve always known in my heart that my deepest desire is to be a writer and I can only hope that one day, my work will be an inspiration for someone the way Tolkien’s work inspired me.
Format: Non-Fiction
Genre: personal essay, autobiographical
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Characters: Me, Frodo, Bilbo
Pairings: None
Summary: My childhood in a family of Tolkien admirers
I feel like I'm stepping up on stage as this is my first post here, but I thought it a nice introduction topic so here goes. I can’t remember the first time I learned of Middle-earth, because I practically grew up there. One of my earliest memories is of my Grandfather telling me the story of the Hobbit, only he pretended it happened to him. He even held up a gold ring (which I later learned was his wedding ring) to prove it. I grew up watching the cartoons and eating dinner on our dinning room table that’s painted with a map of middle-earth. My sister and I would act out different scenes and even my parents would sometimes join in.
In first grade, when we were asked to write what we wanted to be when we grew up, I wrote down “Burglar.” Shocked that I, a usually obedient and well-behaved student, would give such an answer, my teacher struggled to keep her voice calm when asking why.
My response was this: “Because I want to go on a quest and fight dragons like Bilbo.”
The Lord of the Rings was more than just a story for me: it was the inspiration for my childhood. I was constantly living in a made-up world where I was helping Bilbo slay spiders in Mirkwood or dodging Ringwraiths with Merry and Pippin. For some strange reason, my favorite scene to act out was when Frodo was stabbed by the Ringwraith. For years, when I was ill or feeling bad, I would turn to that chapter and start reading. Why? I wish I knew, but I think it has something to do with the other hobbits’ reactions. You can see the love Sam, Merry, and Pippin have for Frodo in their worry for him. More than the magic and excitement of middle-earth, the thing that really got to me and kept calling me back was the friendship between those four hobbits.
I was always looking for friends like that. When I was eight, I made friends with a girl across the street because we needed someone to be Sam and I thought she fit the part. She had never heard of the Lord of the Rings, so I showed her the cartoons and, later, the movies. To this day, she is still one of my closest friends (and a Tolkien fan).
In high school, my mother inexplicably came down with an awful illness that left her bedridden for months. My sister and I turned to Lord of the Rings for hope. We took turns reading as different characters and reminiscing over old stories we’d made up.
So while I never got to go on a quest and fight dragons like Bilbo (at least, not yet), I did find amazing friends who’ve followed me through tasks beyond my wildest dreams and become close to my own family. The characters have each given me strength at different times in my life, and Tolkien has given me a world to escape to when I need it most. I’ve always known in my heart that my deepest desire is to be a writer and I can only hope that one day, my work will be an inspiration for someone the way Tolkien’s work inspired me.
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Date: 2013-03-11 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-11 10:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-12 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-11 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-11 10:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-11 01:42 am (UTC)This.
What a fun family you had! How cool it must have been to grow up that way!
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Date: 2013-03-11 10:07 pm (UTC)I should also probably thank you for introducing me to this site. I heard about it from your profile on fan-fiction (my username is MorganBaggins there-we've had a few brief conversations if you recall) and I thought I would check it out. It's a great idea to have a month dedicated to bringing creative Tolkien fans together. So thank you for getting the word out :)
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Date: 2013-03-11 10:45 pm (UTC)There have been SO many creative stories come from the challenges during B2MeM over the years! And the challenges are always different every year!
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Date: 2013-03-11 01:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-11 10:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-11 02:50 am (UTC)Very nice essay-- i agree that Tolkien has inspired me too! =)
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Date: 2013-03-12 04:01 am (UTC)