As a writer, I am very thankful for the girl in seat 17B. Though I don’t know her name and will probably never see her again, she gave me a little boost of confidence when I needed it most.
Let me explain.
Like other people, writers sometimes struggle with insecurity and discouragement. They ask themselves dark and depressing questions like, “Does anyone really read books anymore?” Or, “Why should I pour my heart and soul into this story when it’s never going to find an audience?”
Such thoughts are not without reason. To begin with, 32 million adults in the United States can’t read, and millions more are only marginally literate. Looking deeper, a 2021 study conducted by The Pew Research Center found that 24 percent of American adults had not read a book — in part or whole, in print or electronically or audibly — in the past year.
Well, that’s pretty depressing, isn’t it? And so was my mood that morning as I boarded the jet for Charleston. It didn’t help seeing so many passengers, especially kids, watching Netflix or playing Fortnight on their little screens.
Then came the girl in 17B, who was seated across the aisle from us and up a couple rows. She was about twelve, I guess, with a 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 opened across her lap! I noticed that she was still reading as we took off, still reading when we got to 32,000 feet, and still reading half an hour later when the flight attendant stopped to talk with her.
“What are you reading there, honey?”
“𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵,” the girl said.
“Oh,” the attendant replied. “I saw the movie.”
“I did too,” the girl said. “But the 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬’𝘴 a lot better.”
I can’t tell you what that moment did to lift my spirits! If ever I find myself in a funk again, wondering if writing is worth the effort, I’ll lean back and picture the girl in 17B.
FUN FACT: There’s scientific proof that reading, which engages your mind in a different way than television, can actually make you smarter, more empathetic, and less susceptible to Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. See: “Everything You Thought You Knew about Reading (and Watching TV) Turns Out to Be True,” at Inc. magazine here.
