In my almost 20 years of life, I have learned quite a few things. One of the things that I believe to be true is that reading a good book is one of the best things you will ever experience.

A good book has the power to completely separate you from the real world and all of its concerns. It can instantly transport you into another time and place. Reading is the only way that we as human beings can ever truly step into another person's shoes and look at the world from a different point of view.

For as long as I can remember, I have had such a passion for the written word. I have always found it so beautiful that people can use something so simple as a combination of words to bring universes and realities to life. There is something about holding a book in my hand and knowing that in between those two covers exists an entire world that I have yet to explore.

It has always been a privilege to read books because I feel so wonderfully grateful to have been allowed entry into the author's mind by reading his/her stories. I think that authors have one of the most important jobs in the world because so many of us are shaped by the things that we read and see in our day to day lives. They have the power to influence immensely large groups of people with the worlds that they create, and in my opinion, that is an honor that they should be proud to hold.

In my life, books have been a solace. Whether I needed a good laugh or someone to relate to, I could and still can always, find the answers in a book. Books give us as humans this very unique outlet to express our emotions as authors and to feel these emotions as readers.

Have you ever gotten the feeling of getting so into a book that you completely lose track of what is going on around you? Have you ever experienced the feeling of wanting to never put a book down? What about wanting to throw the book at a wall? Have you ever sat down and cried for a fictional character because you realize that you really care about them? Have you ever caught yourself smiling because you are overflowing with happiness for a character in a book?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I know you are a book lover, just like me. You see, books will not always cause the most pleasant reactions in the readers, and that is okay. Books are here to challenge us, to anger us, to make us believe that anything is possible. There is something so magical about looking at pages of words and being able to watch them come together to make a story.

I will always be grateful for my love of reading. Books have given me the opportunity to understand points of views that are different from my own. They have allowed me to form a tremendous love for travel and learning. After creating the desire to see the world and learn from it, books have also given me the ability to gain knowledge of the world just by reading.

You see, I firmly believe that a good book can change your life. It can pull you from the darkest of places or transport you to the happiest place on earth. It can take your world view and change it completely, and it can make you wish for magical lands that do not exist outside of the two covers.

I'll leave you with this quote that for me rings very true, "There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." -Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis