Hi,

my name is Lou, I discovered The Illustrated Man when I was 8-9. I was rummaging through my parents' bookstage. I found this strange book, in this strange edition, Présence du Futur. I asked my dad about this book. Oh, you won't like it, he answered. He couldn't say better. I ran in my bed and I called my cat to read it with me.
I was just amazed. How can you be so appealing yet benevolent, realistic, visionary at the same time ?
I only was reading his book in french though, and sometimes I was raging for not being yet able to read it in english, because I felt translation could perhaps spoil the message.

I must precise I want to be a writer since I was 5, means I didn't even know how to write. I wrote my first book at that time, with only drawings about an ordinary day of a cat family. The last page was with some balloons saying things, cause by the time I have learnt a little writing.

When I was 14 I was about to live Tahiti, in French Polynesia, which where I had lived for 4 years. At that time I decided to write to him and contacted a theater which told me it would transfer my letter. My mom help me doing it and corrected my letter. I had no answer, but heck, it was ok since I was scary not to tell him something before he lives.

Years have passed, and all this time I thought I lost my courage to become a writer. I was writing few, and shit, despiting the fact that my mom was harrassing me to continue. I didn't even think about study literature, although it was my very passion, because I believed I couldn't make a living with that. So I began to study law. It was really boring, but no so hard eventually because it had a logic and methodological way of thinking. And it was precisely a mess in my life, in my family, in my head, in my loves, in my friends. I met some people, enven though I was a wild, cynical and - tried to be - an excentric girl.

Then I had my law license and was lost again. Didn't know what to do, decided to study abroad to clear my mind - maybe would I have a revelation ? I decided to go to China because I had study some mandarin by mail at high school.
I was really apprehending it, but finally I had nothing to lose.
And I was amazed. I was afraid of how to fit in the crowed. First I realized that, since my chinese became not so terrible, people believed I was a kinda chinese, from a far province with a strange accent. Weird but not as much as the other white or black people.
For the first time, I felt relax. I have either chinese or foreign friends, all different but all interesting. And I was partying a lot, to say the truth, but I learnt a lot of chinese in the street that way and from the lamest pupil in my chinese language class at school, I became one of the most involved in the class. Debating always ! that is the only way the learn and elevate ourselves.

After that I had a lot of crazy and terrible adventures, quoting the worses, my best friend which I live with lost her beloved dad, my mom got divorced another time and my little sister left too for one year in USA, where she is now ; she had to leave her lover who loved her but they wanted to be free, not sad, and could'nt make a proper compromise, and a hundred of other people who had their own grief. And I forgot my sentimental life which was kinda desastrous. And apart this last thing, I, actually, was the only one to be ok.

So I started to listen to people again. And ask them questions ; stupid questions, just like kids. But maybe my questions were not so stupid, because apparently people hadn't think of them. I was only quoting someone else, saying "I know your stories are totally different, but..." and, stories actually make people feel better, if they understand what they really means. I learn so much of them, from every single person who cross my life. I learn about what a human, or even what a living being is. And it has it good and it bad side - every single thing in this world.

And I realised : why looking always for a meaning ? All the meaning is already here, in all these things. Every thing is a sign - we only, with our own free will. Money run the world, but money cannot buy a conscience.

So today my message is : be yourself and do what you wanna do, live your life as you want but always remember to avoid suffer to your neighbor, as universal wisdom has always said. Today everything is easy and soothing for me, just because I understand this. And I want to share. I wanna change the world, I want everybody to believe with me that it is possible, because I cannot do it by myself.

Thank you, Ray, may you read me, I hope you live this world in peace because I love you so much. Thank you for writing and make all those readers feel better. I owe you so much. You thought me simplicity, humility and love of my neighbor. And, dream, of course.

quote:

I was scary not to tell him something before he lives.

leaves ; well that is an interesting lapsus

Well, sorry for my english, I notice as I read myself again that I made several mistakes. My mom didn't help me this time !

Shit is a good word.

Bienvenue!

Welcome to the board, Lou. Votre anglais est meilleur que mon français, je crois.

I will be presenting a paper at a conference in France in three weeks. Fortunately for me, the conference is in English!

Thank you guys !

Philnic, I would be honoured to attend your conference. I'm ready to book a train ticket, wherever it is (in France though...). So : where when what ?

Voici: http://www.univ-angers.fr/docs/MSH/imageprog.pdf

Et:
http://www.univ-angers.fr/actu...asp?ID=1021&langue=1

It's an academic conference, and there is a fee for attendance. There must be some registration information on the web page somewhere.