Personal Narrative (The Plastic Box That Changed My Life) - September 21, 2018
I am only 16 years old, but I have had a major interest in magic for almost 11 years now. Some would say that I wasted the first six years of my life, and I might agree with that statement, but it is also extremely cliche because personally, it changed my life. Yes, the public opinion of magicians brings forth all the cliches: rabbits in top hats, magic wands, tuxedos, confetti, “lovely assistants”, doves, and big boxes are just a few of the things that show up when the word “magician” is Googled. I do agree with that stereotype to a certain point, but the majority of what the public sees is not a good representation of magic. And, unfortunately, because the majority of the public does not ever have a chance to see a good magician perform, their opinion is skewed by the stereotype created from bad magic and bad experiences relating to magic that was not enjoyable.
But, I do not want to focus on other magicians; I want to talk about my sixth birthday. On my sixth birthday, which I honestly cannot remember much of, I got a magic kit. My dad used to do magic when he was a kid and thought that it would be a great idea to give me a kit. This magic kit was a Marvin’s Magic Kit, which is one of the best magic kit companies, and came with a bunch of plastic tricks and toys in a red cardboard box. Some of these were tricks such as the mental cube where I had a cube with a different color on each side, my audience member placed the cube into a small box, and, with x-ray vision, I was able to tell the audience member what color was on top of the cube. There was also the ball and vase where I took a small colored ball out of a small vase, placed the ball into my pocket, and then made it appear and disappear in the vase. Another one was the cups and balls where balls vanish, appear, transpose, reappear, and transform with the use of misdirection and sleight of hand. After opening the box, I sat in my basement for the rest of my birthday learning, practicing, and attempting to perfect these little pieces of astonishment. I then spent the next two years having my parents purchase more magic kits for me so that I could learn, practice, and perfect even more tricks. During these two years, I learned how I could make a friend or family member smile in amazement at something so simple I had just shown them. I was hooked; I had the “magic bug.” I knew from those moments that I wanted to be a magician and nothing else.
Soon after my eighth birthday, I wanted to learn even more. I had all of the good magic kits, I had perfected the best tricks from those, but I needed more. One day, my dad and I went to Barnes and Noble. Once there, I spotted a blue book with a magician on the cover titled “Magic: The Complete Course by Joshua Jay.” Obviously, I purchased the book right away--the tricks inside were like nothing I had seen before, and the magician who wrote the book seemed amazing. That was the moment when I actually started to perform (my first paid performance, which I believe was for $75, was for my grandma’s 75th birthday party). I loved performing magic for people because not only did it help with my public speaking skills, but I also got to put a smile on someone’s face in just a few short minutes. Right then, I knew things were getting serious and I needed to create my own actual business and learn even more. I created my own website and business cards, used the stage name “AriTheMan,” and perfected everything in Josh’s book. Still, I needed to learn more--to absorb more.
I was twelve when my parents surprised me by telling me that we would be going to Las Vegas for my second time. Not only would we go to the regular tourist places and see the regular tourist shows like we did when I was nine, but we would also be going to Magic Live. Magic Live--a three-day event where magicians hang out, attend lectures, see shows, and purchase magic products from the dealer’s room--is the biggest magic convention in the US. And, I was ecstatic to be there, but, there was one catch: I would be missing the first day of sixth grade. But, I was all right with that because I would be having a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Fast forward a few months later, and I knew I was in Las Vegas as soon as I stepped off of the four-hour plane ride because I could feel the sweltering heat on my face. Slot machines and their flashing lights obstructed my vision and I wanted to pull their grimy metal handles to test my luck, but my dad said, “You’re not old enough yet.” That was fine with me though because I was obviously there for other much more important reasons.
We arrived at the disgusting hotel and checked in right away so that we could go straight to the dealer’s room--a wonderful space filled with magicians selling their magic props, books, and DVDs. “Dad, c’mon!” He was being slow getting ready and I was anxious to go. We finally left our room, walked through the smoky casino and into the dealer’s room. “Wow.” I was speechless. It was even more amazing that I had thought it was going to be.
We walked around for a while, but then, standing right in front of me was my magic idol, Josh Jay. Lucky for me, I had his book in my backpack with me at that moment. My dad pushed me toward him and made me introduce myself. I am pretty sure that I was freaking out in my head right then, but I was talking with Josh. He ended up signing my book and we took a picture together. He gave my dad his email address and told us about his personal convention. We said our goodbyes, but we would see each other again very soon. I enjoyed the rest of the amazing convention but kept the image of Josh and I speaking in the back of my mind.
A few months later, Josh came to lecture in Atlanta where we met up and talked again. Then, I got a youth scholarship from him to go to his own convention in Columbus, Ohio, and from those moments, we became friends. I now go to Josh’s convention every year where we see each other, and outside of that, we constantly email and try to meet up when I go to New York, where he lives. Josh even performed with me, along with two other magicians, at my bar mitzvah to help raise $6,000 for two charities.
I never knew what one plastic box would do to my life. I could have just enjoyed it as a toy and never thought about it again. But, luckily, it changed my life by increasing my public speaking skills, enabling me to meet amazing people, and creating lifelong friendships.
But, I do not want to focus on other magicians; I want to talk about my sixth birthday. On my sixth birthday, which I honestly cannot remember much of, I got a magic kit. My dad used to do magic when he was a kid and thought that it would be a great idea to give me a kit. This magic kit was a Marvin’s Magic Kit, which is one of the best magic kit companies, and came with a bunch of plastic tricks and toys in a red cardboard box. Some of these were tricks such as the mental cube where I had a cube with a different color on each side, my audience member placed the cube into a small box, and, with x-ray vision, I was able to tell the audience member what color was on top of the cube. There was also the ball and vase where I took a small colored ball out of a small vase, placed the ball into my pocket, and then made it appear and disappear in the vase. Another one was the cups and balls where balls vanish, appear, transpose, reappear, and transform with the use of misdirection and sleight of hand. After opening the box, I sat in my basement for the rest of my birthday learning, practicing, and attempting to perfect these little pieces of astonishment. I then spent the next two years having my parents purchase more magic kits for me so that I could learn, practice, and perfect even more tricks. During these two years, I learned how I could make a friend or family member smile in amazement at something so simple I had just shown them. I was hooked; I had the “magic bug.” I knew from those moments that I wanted to be a magician and nothing else.
Soon after my eighth birthday, I wanted to learn even more. I had all of the good magic kits, I had perfected the best tricks from those, but I needed more. One day, my dad and I went to Barnes and Noble. Once there, I spotted a blue book with a magician on the cover titled “Magic: The Complete Course by Joshua Jay.” Obviously, I purchased the book right away--the tricks inside were like nothing I had seen before, and the magician who wrote the book seemed amazing. That was the moment when I actually started to perform (my first paid performance, which I believe was for $75, was for my grandma’s 75th birthday party). I loved performing magic for people because not only did it help with my public speaking skills, but I also got to put a smile on someone’s face in just a few short minutes. Right then, I knew things were getting serious and I needed to create my own actual business and learn even more. I created my own website and business cards, used the stage name “AriTheMan,” and perfected everything in Josh’s book. Still, I needed to learn more--to absorb more.
I was twelve when my parents surprised me by telling me that we would be going to Las Vegas for my second time. Not only would we go to the regular tourist places and see the regular tourist shows like we did when I was nine, but we would also be going to Magic Live. Magic Live--a three-day event where magicians hang out, attend lectures, see shows, and purchase magic products from the dealer’s room--is the biggest magic convention in the US. And, I was ecstatic to be there, but, there was one catch: I would be missing the first day of sixth grade. But, I was all right with that because I would be having a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Fast forward a few months later, and I knew I was in Las Vegas as soon as I stepped off of the four-hour plane ride because I could feel the sweltering heat on my face. Slot machines and their flashing lights obstructed my vision and I wanted to pull their grimy metal handles to test my luck, but my dad said, “You’re not old enough yet.” That was fine with me though because I was obviously there for other much more important reasons.
We arrived at the disgusting hotel and checked in right away so that we could go straight to the dealer’s room--a wonderful space filled with magicians selling their magic props, books, and DVDs. “Dad, c’mon!” He was being slow getting ready and I was anxious to go. We finally left our room, walked through the smoky casino and into the dealer’s room. “Wow.” I was speechless. It was even more amazing that I had thought it was going to be.
We walked around for a while, but then, standing right in front of me was my magic idol, Josh Jay. Lucky for me, I had his book in my backpack with me at that moment. My dad pushed me toward him and made me introduce myself. I am pretty sure that I was freaking out in my head right then, but I was talking with Josh. He ended up signing my book and we took a picture together. He gave my dad his email address and told us about his personal convention. We said our goodbyes, but we would see each other again very soon. I enjoyed the rest of the amazing convention but kept the image of Josh and I speaking in the back of my mind.
A few months later, Josh came to lecture in Atlanta where we met up and talked again. Then, I got a youth scholarship from him to go to his own convention in Columbus, Ohio, and from those moments, we became friends. I now go to Josh’s convention every year where we see each other, and outside of that, we constantly email and try to meet up when I go to New York, where he lives. Josh even performed with me, along with two other magicians, at my bar mitzvah to help raise $6,000 for two charities.
I never knew what one plastic box would do to my life. I could have just enjoyed it as a toy and never thought about it again. But, luckily, it changed my life by increasing my public speaking skills, enabling me to meet amazing people, and creating lifelong friendships.