Ever since I was little, I have always loved books. As embarrassing as it may sound, until about the fourth grade, I couldn’t fall asleep without being read to.
When I was younger, books offered an imaginative escape into places I couldn’t physically experience. I loved challenging my mind and feeling the force of my imagination expanding.
I owe the person that I am today to the books that have shaped me along the way. Reading taught me the value of education, but it also taught me empathy. It gave me valuable skills pertaining to conflict resolution and offered learning experiences that my own personal life was unable to. It expanded my vocabulary and sparked a craving for knowledge.
There is absolutely nothing I enjoy more than getting lost in a book in a coffee shop or curling up with a blanket, a mug of hot tea and spending an entire day reading. I love literature, I love narrative, I love strong character development. You can learn so much about life through books and I truly believe that books enable us to be empowered thinkers and to be more human.
There will never come a day that I don’t crave personal time to dig into a novel and immerse myself into a story. Heck, I’ve spent the past four years majoring in telling stories.
This adoration for reading is the direct product of engaging English teachers and my parents recognizing my passion and allowing me to foster in it.
Everyone should value literature, and everyone should strive to become better thinkers and better people. Reading can help that process.