Editorial - Issue Five: Divorced from Reality [Grapeshot Magazine]

Imagine this: you’re perfectly placed on a raised platform in the middle of a large room with a glaring spotlight upon you. You’re told to not only look natural, but look at the same spot for two hours, while ten sets of pesky eyes watch you discerningly, slowly recreating your chubby face-shape, your tired eyes and your double chin with the tip of their pencil or the point of their paintbrush. If ever there was a time that I wanted to escape my reality, this was probably it.

But just as I couldn’t just leave the old codgers without a subject for their Monday portrait class, we can’t escape the fact that much to our dismay, we’re back to reality kids. As one semester bites the dust, another one seems to rear its ugly head far too quickly. Lucky for you though, I think I’ve got just the trick to overcome the bloody, sweaty, teary reality of yet another treacherous educative installment – escaping it.

As I was sitting on my pedestal, my mind started drifting. I started to imagine how much harder my situation would have been had I been naked. Or worse, naked and hairy. Then, in my mind, I began painting my own pictures of the wrinkly, weathered people before me, inventing lives to match the weary faces. Very quickly, two hours slipped by and my job was done. So my fingers are crossed in the hope that, with a little bit of escapism, the upcoming semester will pass surprisingly quickly.

And where else would you look for an escape but in the pages of Grapeshot Magazine? I promise, this issue will not disappoint, offering the perfect feast for your eyes, mind and curiosity. Have you ever wondered what the world looks like to someone who suffers from severe schizophrenia? Or what it feels like to take hallucinogens? Or how someone could possibly get so angry at a YouTube video? We’ve got all this, plus puzzles, recipes, pretty pictures and soothing words. All you have to do is keep turning those pages.

Of course, Grapeshot Magazine should be your very first port of call when attempting to survive what’s ahead. But I’d also recommend always having a good book on hand, updating your iTunes library regularly and maybe even getting a Wii.