Original Owl #1

It was like living in a dimly lit room that I didn't realize was dimly lit. Having always been there, having adjusted to shadowy light, I had no idea anything brighter existed. But then a light came on, revealing doors and hallways and stairs, all leading to a new kind of consciousness to which I was just being introduced.

I was 12 years old when I first discovered a concept that would forever shape and mold my ways of thinking, learning, and being. I was 12 years old when it first hit me: Reality is fluid. There are no concrete constants, no real black and white. Shades of grey surround and enthrall us, sometimes leading us astray, sometimes showing us the beauty and horror of unadulterated truth. Reality is what you make of it, and people are remarkably creative animals.

Robert Cormier's novels all have a tendency to stretch the mind and question "normalcy," but none does this so thoroughly and completely as "I am the Cheese." The story of a boy confined to a mental institution who has no idea that he's not living his life free and unfettered is one that not only confused and distressed me, but also one that introduced me to the fascinating practice of psychology. Whether you believe it to be an art or a science, the study of "why" in reference to human behavior is something that has entranced me for nearly a decade.