The purpose of a preface, supposedly, is to set about reasons for writing a book and thanking individuals who may have assisted in the writing process. I will set about doing both of these things, and hopefully complete this mission.
Firstly let me say that what you're about to start reading is, or at least should be, something new and novel. My eighth grade english teacher always told us that if you were going to invest the energy to make a comment in class, you'd better bring up something new and novel. I don't think I even knew what novel meant in eighth grade, but oh well. I also didn't know what diabetes was, how to flirt, or how to derive differential equations.
I didn't want to set about writing something that would be dull. The best books in my mind are always the ones that are interesting enough to keep you reading, but at the same time, intellectual enough for you to walk away feeling like you've learned something. Most books that I've read have morals (are you listening whoever wrote The Stranger?). Eww Camus. I also felt that there was something seriously missing in society today. Maybe it is the reaction of the minority against the majority, but I honestly felt that people should be different, and I guess, more like me, despite how lame or controlling or creepy that sounds. I knew writing a book wouldn't change this per se, but I wanted to attempt to put out in display another way that people can live their lives. I wouldn't say that there is anything truly odd about me. If you were to know me, you'd know that I'm normal, seemingly so. But there are a lot of little things about me that makes it difficult for me, it seems, at times, to connect with other people in the world.
So now we must approach the book, and what it attempts to look at. The title, may or may not be, a little misleading. This is not a love story, although one could read it that way. It is much more about me, an individual, struggling with understanding herself. People always say it is much harder to know yourself than to know others. This novel attempts to catalogue as much as I know about myself. There is a lot of love in this book, but there are different types of love. Part of my struggle is understanding the differences.
You could read this story as an autobiography. But it is slightly fictionalized. I don't think I could write an interesting story without adding some small dose of lies. This book is all about me and my freshmen year at a small liberal arts school. I have to confront a lot of issues that I could barely approach in high school. Most of the characters I introduce are heavily based on or are real people (although names have been changed).
The book has many layers to it, because I feel that reading should be entertaining, and with the introduction of television and the internet it has been further compromised as a form of entertainment. Enjoy the comic strip sections, the random definitions, the drawings, and the art. If you are not completely satisfied, well, I'd say you'd get your money back, but I won't risk it.
I would like to thanks all the people I met and got to know from living with them, day and night. Some people are much more central to the development of intellectual issues, some people are more important for plot, but everyone I mention serves their part in telling my story. My parents were integral for this book's development. My mom and dad both aspire to write books, and I've spent an entire life thinking about the importance of written words. Without them to set an example, I would have lived with all of this inside of me, building/creating tension.
Get ready to enjoy. Let me just finish by saying, thank you for reading this, and if there's anything I can do for you, just ask.
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