When I was surfing on Twitter I came across this ad from the Oprah show, and since it involved Oprah and Twilight, I though I would investigate.
https://www.oprah.com/ownsho
w/plug_form.html?plug_id=3
932628
Here are the exact words from the site, as per the link above:
Are you or your kids obsessed with the Twilight series? Have you or your kids read all the books, seen both movies and now you are counting down the days until the release of Eclipse? Have you already made plans for the release of the newest movie in June? Who's your family's favorite Twilight star...and why?
Why do you love the story so much? How has it impacted your life? What have you learned from the series and how has it made you a better person? Are you a housewife who's started a fan club with friends? Do you have a young adult in your family who's been inspired to write his/her own stories? Has the romance in Twilight sparked the romance in your own relationship?
Tell us how the Twilight series has inspired you or your family! Please only write if you are willing to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
I don't know if it was the all knowing Oprah who spurred my fingers to start typing again, or to re-visit my Twilight reading experience. It didn't change my world so much so that I am stalking Robert Pattison and Taylor Lautner on the web, but it did make me pause and re-evaluate my life in a different way. So here is my personal response has to do with Twilight, and the lesson that I took from the book. It relates to my health journey, and some of you have read pieces of this before. I re-worded some of it, and sent it on in to Oprah just for fun because the inspirational part I took for me out of the books was quite profound.
When the movie Twilight came out in theatres I had no idea what it was about. I had not heard of the books, or all the hoopla that surrounded them. But during the school year, I noticed that my students could not put the books down. I personally was heavily into my thesis year of my Masters degree and had no time for novels, but anything that really gets the kids reading at school, I think very highly of, so I put the novels on my "To Read List" for the summer.
When I was traveling to my niece's wedding, I started reading Twilight on the ferry ride to Vancouver, BC, and after two years of reading research and non-fiction I was ready for a novel. So I caved to temptation and bought the book. It was so good I finished the book in one day, and because it is a saga, four books in total, I bought the next books the very next morning at the closest bookstore. I had to find out what was going to happen next. I love books like that. I was mesmerized, and really surprised that I enjoyed it so much, and I was thinking it was the best love story since Elizabeth Bennett and Mark Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. All of that aside, I actually found a lesson for myself in the book, which surprised me even further.
No I'm not jumping on the team Edward or team Jacob bandwagon, nor am I rushing out to buy myself a pair of g-string panties with Edward's name written on them. I am after all I'm 36 year old music teacher. What I really loved in the book was Edward's strength and fortitude around is relationship with Bella. She's human, he's a vampire. His whole desire (that constantly plagues him through the story) is to suck every inch of blood out of her. He even refers to her as "his own personal brand of heroin".
Sometimes I feel that way about food, and I was surprised how much I really admired Edward's restraint. He doesn't give in. To consume Bella is something he wants so badly, but he wants the relationship even more, so he uses every ounce of his will and personal fortitude to have a relationship with someone he wants to devour.
I have been overweight most of my life, and was in a constant private struggle to gain control, keep on track and eat what's healthy. But what I truly desire even more than food, is to be a slimmer, healthier version of myself. SO I took a lesson from Edward Cullen ( I can't believe I'm saying this), and have really begun to focus on what matters most, which is using my inner strength and fortitude to become a healthier version of myself. Not only did I enjoy the entire story of Twilight from start to finish, but I will always remember the books as ones that inspired a life lesson, and awakened a passion and desire in myself to achieve what I want most no matter how tempted I become.
Since reading the Twilight Saga, I have lost 40 pounds.
Recently I posted on Twitter 3 pictures of where I was before Twilight, where I am now after reading Twilight, and how it continues to affect my life.
Summer 2008 - the before http://twitpic.com/1gm1jb
The now, and after. http://twitpic.com/1gm1xz
Was awakened, and continue to love every moment of the transformation. http://twitpic.com/1gm2j1
Like Shakespeare, and Austen, Meyer now holds a coveted space on my bookshelf. The stories and characters that I continue to enjoy have made an impact on my life is so many positive ways. I continue to make good choices everyday to help in my weight loss, and when I feel temptation running through my veins, I always remember the teenage vampire, and his will to achieve what he desires most.
