At the recommendation of a friend, I went to “the last bookstore” today in Los Angeles. It exceeded my expectations in every way possible, as it had such a variety of art forms, displayed in an  aesthetically beautiful store. After checking in my backpack, I explored the entire downstairs area, looking at the staff recommended books, and going through genre by genre. From modern fiction to films, the store had every different type of book, with even a section dedicated to writers from the LA area.

Personally, I think the most interesting part was upstairs in the labyrinth. I loved the tunnel of stacked books and the horror room, but specifically the section with all the original Star Trek novels. With the prices ranging from 1-3 dollars I couldn’t resist stacking them up. Soon my mom found the shelf, and as an even more avid fan, she had such a hard time choosing which books to leave behind.

The upstairs wrapped around the store in a square-like figure, and was open in the middle so that you could see the entirety of the first floor. I came in at a great time as an author was reading different passages from her book, following a fifteen year old girl who escaped an Alabama plantation in the 1840’s. I loved how personal the reading was, and the atmosphere of the shop gave off a very warm vibe inviting to all. I could hear the author’s voice so clearly, and that type of clarity further emerged the audience into the setting of the book. She truly was captivating, and the rhythm of her reading carried us in a journey throughout the novel. Once the author had finished, she told us her personal story beginning  as a high school student. Making straight C’s, she didn’t have any plans for attending a college, yet she still went on to a four year university and had decided to change her habits in school. She worked extremely hard and made good grades, then launching her career and really steering her future with purpose.

I think as a student right now I have a very make it or break it attitude, and getting bad grades just seems like the worst possible thing, but stories such as these really put the world into perspective for me. It reaffirms how conventional ways of life don’t produce something of the extraordinary. The fact that passion isn’t tied down to performance in schools, pushes me to excel in what I love, rather get bogged down with a mere letter used to make judgment on the totality of your intelligence.

Even without such an inspirational author, the store truly had a section for everyone. The galleries, records, comics and endless shelves with numerous genres, ensured that every visitor had something a part of themselves to discover.