To my bookstagram family,

First of all, hello there, my precious little bean sprouts! I hope this letter finds you well.

For those of you who're reading this but are unsure of what "bookstagram" even means, let me give you a brief definition: Bookstagram is a community of bibliophiles who use Instagram as a platform to share their personal photos of books, write captions that pertain to how they feel about the book/s they're reading, and build bonds with people from all over the world who're likeminded in their love of literature. It has been coined "bookstagram" for obvious reasons!

With that being said, I'd like to take this moment to thank all the beautiful people who're part of bookstgram─especially the ones I consider my dearest friends.

I'm beyond thankful, humbled, and honestly, shocked, at the sheer number of you. When I started my own bookstagram account, I never expected any of this─never expected to meet so many wonderful people who I'd consider my best friends, never expected to have a following of any more than 300 (and here I am now at 4.5k! What?!), never expected to regard a form of social media as an escape...as a home.

Bookstagram feels like home to me.

I come on bookstagram everyday and I feel so welcomed. I feel wanted. I feel completely loved. I feel happy. I feel confident. And most of all, I feel like I belong. There are some days I like to slip onto bookstagram and get lost in your beautiful feeds, because your photos are like works of art. I get lost amongst all the kind comments we leave on each other's photos. I get lost watching your stories, hearing the real-life voices behind your accounts. For those of you who live around the world, your accents are so beautiful. And those of you who live here in the states, it's soothing to hear familiar voices. I'm just so amazed.

It's incredible how we have this one little pocket of the world, and we choose to fill it with such kindness and our mutual love for all things book-related. We ALWAYS lift each other up, and never once have I come across any negativity or rudeness from any of you. Do you know how uncommon that is? Social media outside of our community is such a harsh, cold place. Nasty, terrible comments are everywhere. But in our community, no such hatred exists. Only kind words, laughter, acceptance, and genuine friendships are what we share with one another. It truly is a miraculous space that we've created.

To me, bookstagram is one of the most wonderful places I've ever been in my life. It's a place where I can truly say I feel like I belong, where I have made friends that I cherish so deeply that some days, I have tears in my eyes from it. I care so much about everyone here. Upon starting my bookstagram, I didn't know how wonderful it would be. I didn't know about how amazing the community is, and these past few months I've spent here with you have been so phenomenal.

Bookstagram means I get to not only share my love of books, but it means I get to be part of something so gosh-darn special. It means I'm surrounded by people who really understand me. It means I get to experiment and have fun with my photography. It means that even though I write my comments and make my posts from the comfort of my own home, I'm able to travel to all different parts of the world because of the lovely people I follow who live all over. Do you know how magical that is? And most of all, bookstagram reminds me of my worth. There are some days that are so hard, but being here, surrounded by such sweet and lovely bookworms...I remember I'm worth it. And there aren't enough words to say how thankful I am for that.

So, cheers to all of you who help make the bookstagram community what it is. Your kindness and talent radiate with every post you make, every caption you craft, every comment you leave. And thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, for being here with me, and reminding me everyday that this is indeed a gift. All of it.

Forever and always,

@Literary.Faerie (AKA, Ari)