For those of you who know me, you are aware that I love books. You know that I am constantly reading, or giving you lengthy spills on the situation that the characters in my most recent book are experiencing(even though it sounds like gibberish to you.) Reading is one my greatest comforts, and books are a place that I turn to when being in my shoes becomes too much. After a bad day you can find me in one of two places: sketching away like a mad man, or buried in a book. I wasn't always like this, in fact I hated reading until around the fourth grade. Then fate stepped into my life in the form of a bespectacled young wizard named Harry Potter. The Harry Potter books jump started my love for reading and since then I've read more books than I can count, and reread the Harry Potter series sixteen times.

Once I got started loving books there was no turning back. My room contains precariously stacked piles of novels, and an overflowing bookcase. I have a book bucket list that is ever growing, and a ton of books that I intend to reread. I have over eighty ebooks taking up storage on my phone, an extensive vocabulary, and cannot be trusted with large sums of money when in a book store. I have pulled many all-nighters due to a good read, and become so engrossed in a book that you'd literally have to shake me to get my attention. Between the pages of a book I have found a home, and through book characters I have found friends. I have climbed mountains, sailed with pirates, fought with heroes, and discovered lost treasures. Books have made me laugh until my sides hurt, and cry until the page is damp with tears. And oh man have books made me cry! I've cried from joy at a beautiful ending, and from sadness at a character's death. I also cry when I finish a good book or book series because even though I know I will always be able to revisit the story, it will never be the same as the first time. You see when I read, I do it wholeheartedly. I become a part of that world, and I become invested in the characters. I allow myself to become immersed in the story, and to escape into a new world.

By being a book lover I have learned many things. I have learned compassion by seeing life through the eyes of so many different book characters, and I've had my eyes opened to different cultures and lifestyles. I have learned not to get into a book right before a big project or test because every spare moment I can find will be spent reading instead of studying. I have learned that there are few things worse than having a novel end on a cliff hanger, only to discover that you'll have to wait another two years before the next book comes out. I have learned that being a book lover isn't cheap, and that if I have to chose between buying a cute top or a new book I will always chose the book. I have learned that I can (and will) spend hours prowling through a book shop, and that being surrounded by books is one of the most soothing places to be. I have learned that books are a great conversation starter, and that hearing someone claim to hate reading breaks my heart.

Reading has become a big part of who I am, and it comes with its blessings and its curses. I don't regret becoming a book lover, and I couldn't be persuaded to give it up. Without books, I'm not sure how I would have ended up. They came into my life when I was alone, and have kept me from being that way ever since then. I owe so many authors a huge thank you for writing such wonderful novels, and I am so grateful to my elementary librarian for helping me discover my love for reading. Books have changed my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.