There were things you could see and not have to read. They are the lazy person's version of a book. You didn't have to count how many pages you read; instead it was levels you passed. It was also possible to play with a number of other people. Just imagine, asking your best friends to join you in reading the newest book compared to asking them to join you in the newest game. These games were the replacement of my only childhood love.
There were other reasons why I started to abandon my readings. Peer pressure is very powerful. Peers can influence people and affect you and in turn can make a person think and do things they might not normally do. Playing sports at recess is what most kids did. Nobody read books at recess. So you can imagine what would happen if you read a book instead of joining the others in a game of handball or a game of tag. So you can imagine how I was made fun of. I can still remember some of the words: "You nerd!" and "Look he's reading a book!" followed by laughter. When being a made fun of as a young child the feeling can be demoralizing. The pressure is harmful to a young person. So naturally, I stopped reading in hopes of my peers accepting me. They eventually did and I never again read a book outside of class. These kids scared me away from what I liked to do. I gained acceptance from my peers, but I also lost something greater.
Once I stopped reading, I could never fully go back. I would try to read but it just seemed boring to me. There was always something more important to do. Even at one .
point I thought I would go back, but then we got cable television in our household. I was glued to the set. With all these new channels there was no time for anything else except maybe a level or two of the new video game. Books just went out of style, like the last seasons clothing line. You didn't want to be different you didn't want others thinking negatively of you. As a young child, you want to be accepted, and to be accepted you had to fit in.
