After a hard day of classes, studying, or work, everyone has different methods of relaxing.

Reading, watching movies, and catching up on a favorite TV shows are a few methods that are popular with our home-schooled teenagers. Several interviews with MODG students and one Co-Op student showed the different methods that many teenagers enjoy.

During an interview, Maura Martin, an MODG Sophomore, said that some of her favorite ways to calm down after a long day is “…to sit and read a book, maybe with some coffee or tea.”

Martin also commented on the fantasy genre of television, which she admits does not interest her very much. “One of the TV shows that I have found very humorous and does not intrude upon my faith like so many others is Merlin.” The 2009 fantasy-drama revisits the tales of King Arthur and Merlin the Wizard, but focuses on them at a young age. I have watched this show myself and have found it to be entertaining and quite educating in matters of moral dilemmas.

Another interview with an MODG Sophomore, Serena Fontecchio, showed that Merlin is a very popular show that has entertained many young Catholics without infringing on their schoolwork, responsibilities, or morals. Fontecchio said that Merlin is one of her favorite TV shows and she watches it very often along with several different animes.

Nick Meredith, a sophomore attending classes at the Bristol Academy Co-Op, said he watches and reads a great deal in his downtime. Marvel and DC comics are some of his favorites and, surprisingly, he also enjoys Merlin. The fantastic worlds available to people at the press of a button or the turn of a page are wonderful and innumerable. They can be emotional, whimsical, or hilarious. However, not all fiction is innocent.

I also use the world of fantasy and fiction to relax after a long or hard day. Many use the world of fiction to escape from the world of responsibilities and work that is expected of them. Personally, I watch and read a lot of Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Historical Fiction. They are my favorite genres. However, I must be careful with the world of fiction. Many evils are hidden within the entertainment of these books and stories.

Different books and TV shows can be entertaining and humorous. However, the shows, movies, and books are often full of ideas that intrude upon faith, especially morals.  I must be careful to start watching my favorite TV show after I have finished my work because I become so absorbed in the characters and happenings within the story that I am not able to hear or notice anything else. My mother calls the television ‘the black hole’, because whenever any of my family begin to watch it, we start to ignore everything else.

I have used the world of fiction to hide from difficult choices or responsibilities. However, my choices came back, more persistent than ever. I am a high-school senior and I am due to decide on a college by the end of March. Fiction and fantasy are not the answer for problems. I used to have four months to choose a college, but now due to the distractions of fiction I have less than two. All too often, fiction is a distraction and causes more trouble.

Do not think that I am trying to put people off of reading, watching, and enjoying television and books. Believe me, when I say that I love them. I am issuing a warning and an invitation. the whole world is waiting.

Go explore. Every world that has ever been imagined and everything in the world around us can be found on a screen or behind the cover of your next book. Be vigilant though. Lucifer has hidden many of his works on the same screens and in the same pages. Enjoy books and shows that have been recommended by friends and family and enjoy life to the fullest in God – along with a few fantasies.