Every year for my birthday, I used to rip the gift wrap off what I knew would be a new “Calvin and Hobbes” treasury to add to my collection. Fridays in my family used to be movie-musical nights. When my grandparents visited, I would become a bit too deeply engrossed in Bollywood soap operas. I concede, that these particular hobbies may not have been the most realistic or practical uses of my childhood free-time in the long run, but the happily-ever-after fantasies they provide grant the optimism and hopeful idealism that is a vital ingredient in what it takes to navigate through life.

As a disclaimer, the value of fiction in no way demeans the value of facts — this is a newspaper, after all. But if news and facts grant us information about events happening in the world we live in, then fiction teaches us how to deal with them as the best versions of ourselves. In fact, according to Publisher’s Weekly, nonfiction biography works have gained a larger audience in the past years above those that are strictly informational. In this way, a narrative style of writing resonates more with readers, regardless of the information it presents, and furthermore, that fact and narrative work hand-in-hand.

The language of fiction, or any narrative-style piece for that matter, undoubtedly appeals to the standard senses. But on a deeper level, it also appeals to people in a moving and sometimes poignant sense, giving audiences the ability to walk in the shoes of a fictional character.

From simple childhood fairytales of princesses and singing woodland creatures to Jane Austen’s novels of nuptials, these stories provide an outlet for positive mental development. If exposed to at a young age, they also grant core values such as empathy, optimism and open mindedness.

Loving fiction is a matter of finding the right piece — one that resonates with the reader or audience. It is a matter of finding that work and realizing you can see yourself in your favorite character. It is a matter of realizing that during those times when you’ve felt painfully alone or that you are the only person who understands your thoughts; there is some fictional piece out there that will give you a character who does just those things. Thanks to fiction, we have the capability to determine that if a character can prevail against adversity, so can we.

With this sense of unity with a story, a happily-ever-after for your favorite character might just give a person the hope and motivation one needs to their own happy ending.