Contributors Collection: Jumping Into a New World 

Written by Samantha Segura. 

Segura is set to graduate in May 2025 with a masters degree in sociology.

Everyone in the classroom stared at the desk filled with cupcakes. Our mouths watered at the mere thought of those delicious baked goods sitting in front of us. My classmate, Victoria, was turning 9 years old. Her mother had brought us an array of different flavored cupcakes topped with plastic rings from The Twilight Saga.  

I had no idea what the movie was so I asked Victoria. She gave me a brief synopsis and I was hooked. I decided that my mission was to watch the movie as soon as possible. The second I got home, I asked my mom if I could watch the movie series. Much to my dismay, she did not allow me to watch it because it was PG-13 and I was just 9 years old.  

I pleaded with her for days. After the fourth day, she told me that I could watch the movies if I read the books. I did not like to read since I thought it was boring. I would much rather watch TV. On the other hand, I did not go out much. I did not have any friends. I was always considered “too loud,” which was a trait people found annoying. 

When I was in the third grade, my reading level reached that of a twelfth-grader. Perhaps,  my mom thought I needed a nudge in the right direction as if she thought I was wasting my reading skills. It could have also been that my mom did not think that I would actually go through the trouble of reading a total of 3,520 pages to watch five movies. Each book in The Twilight Saga is about 500 to 700 pages long and the most pages I would read at that time was 300. 

In response to my mom’s idea, I stated, “OK, I will read them. Let’s go to Barnes & Noble this weekend.” 

That weekend, she took me to Barnes & Noble in McAllen. Since my mom never uses the highway, it was about a 45-minute drive from my home. I felt like I was a lost dog in the store. Everything was overwhelming; the bookshelves were towering over me. My elementary school had a small library compared to this giant store. My mom asked a worker where the novels were. The worker led us to the young adult section and at that moment, I stood in the exact place that I would forever occupy.  

I picked up the first novel out of Twilight. It was a paperback, 544 pages, and had the original cover. The cover was a depiction of hands grasping a bright red apple with a contrasting black background. I was grasping the book in a similar manner as the apple. It was precious to me. At that moment, I had no idea that the same book would be the ignition to my love of reading. On the drive home, I started my consumption of literature.  

Suddenly in class, I was motivated to finish my work. I would be the first to finish my assignments and homework in class so that I would be able to read before the next assignment was issued. There was an inherent craving for consuming every word that was in the book. I would read while eating my lunch alone. I would read the second I got in the car after school. Surprisingly, these new features of mine did not add to my popularity at school. I quickly digested all pages of the novel in six days.  

That weekend, instead of going to Barnes & Noble, we went to BlockBuster in Edinburg. I was practically jumping out of my seat. It was my first time picking out a movie at BlockBuster. My mom already knew the layout of the store; she had worked there while she was in college. She led me to the Twilight section and we checked it out. Then, we drove home, put the CD in the player and watched the movie. I was confused and disappointed to say the least. The movie did not explain the thoughts of the main character, Bella. It did not have certain scenes.  

Afterward, I asked my mother, “Why was the book so much better than the movie?” She replied, “Because reading allows you to get into a whole new world.”

Reflecting on this experience is something I do frequently. Where would I be right now? Perhaps, I wouldn’t have had my nose in a book. Perhaps, I would not have gotten my bachelor’s degree in English. 

I imagine that in a different world where I never read The Twilight Saga, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. The Twilight Saga showed me the power of literature.  

After reading Twilight, I started going to the library and Barnes & Noble every week. Books became my safe haven. Reading allowed me to ignore the outside world, one where I was usually isolated from my classmates. I was able to jump into a new world. I could just focus on the pages in front of me and forget everything else. 

It has been 11 years since reading The Twilight Saga and I am 20 years old. I’m writing this essay in the same exact Barnes & Noble where my mom and I bought my first book while drinking a refreshing strawberry lemonade. 

It’s crazy to think about; isn’t it? The way that all the moments in your life, no matter how small, lead up to certain bigger moments.