Escapism - how do you plead?

I have decided what I want to do when I leave school. I'm not scared anymore because I know.

Music Journalism.

It was staring me in the face all along, I suppose. It got me thinking though.

When I'm sad or feeling lonely or upset or anything I know all I need to do is click Shuffle on my iPod, or pick up my favourite book or start writing, or read up on some famous philosophers or just start writing. I realised, though, that when I do that it transports me into this completely different world. Like I'm not myself anymore, and for that moment I don't need to focus on the harsh realities and the world outside of my music or my literature.

It provides me with a sense of Escapism.

So I did my research and looked it all up and realised that I was an Escapist.

But then it made me think ...aren't we all?
Some would argue yes. Because if one person can just plug in some earphones and lie down and be completely taken by the music, or reading or writing or anything makes them feel like none of it matters, any hobby at all. Anyone who engages in any kind of activity that makes them feel good are essentially resorting to escapism ...right?

Not right?

I write about my friend a lot, and I'm going to write about him now.
He believes in a lot of things - existentialism, the illuminati. He's obsessed with philosophy and conspiracies and the like. And when I asked him about Escapism he looked at me and he said,
"Never accuse me of being a coward."
So he thinks that Escapism is cowardly. I asked him about that and he said that, running away from the world isn't going to fix anything. The boy has a cheek to talk considering he finds his "escape" at the bottom of several wine bottles and at the end of every joint he smokes, but I suppose he has a point. Are we cowardly, because we would rather hide in a song or get lost in a fictional world, or dive into metaphors and consider things that really are completely irrelevant rather than confront our problems?

So folks, I want to know.

Escapism - how do you plead?

really need your opinions on this one guys.

always,
k.
x