OK, I don’t know about you, but for the last couple of years, I hated reading. Now that probably sounds really stupid, because I am an English minor, and you’d think I was all about getting my hands on some books. Now, I am not a bookworm by any means, but I have finally gotten the chance to read for myself.

I am so grateful for my education, but the high school I went to was really intense. I mean really intense. You needed two backpacks just to get all your homework to and from school every day. And on top of all that, I spent at least four hours a night on homework.

Our curriculum included everything from Homer to Aquinas. We dissected every bit of “The Odyssey,” and tore the Sophoclean Trilogy to shreds. Many a late night was spent searching for little details in classics such as “Frankenstein.” We’d read Shakespeare and then act out scenes in class. On top of the reading during the school year, we’d have summer reading.

Honestly, I am not complaining, it taught me how to work hard and I learned a lot. However, I stopped reading for pleasure. Reading became a chore. For me, reading was this monotonous task that ultimately seemed like a waste of time.

Here’s the thing: I’ve read a lot. I spent my childhood reading biographies of famous world figures, and some of my favorite books included the “Little House on the Prairie” series. Once I started high school though, it just wasn’t fun anymore.

By the time college started, I was too busy with classes and friends to really sit down with a good book. I started watching a lot of TV shows, which there’s nothing wrong with, of course. On the other hand, I noticed that my creative writing was starting to mirror what I was watching.

That’s boring! There are already plenty of copycats out there.

Things changed though. This summer, I’ve been working at a summer camp where my cell phone data is lacking and the WiFi leaves a lot to be desired. I am perfectly fine with that, I mean there’s a lot more to life than sitting behind a tiny screen. However, by about week three of my summer, that desire I had once had to read a good book returned to me.

Once again, I wanted to sit and let my mind explore and create a world other than my own. By the time my next payday rolled around, I had about five books in my Amazon cart.

A few days later, I received a box that smelled like that old book smell I used to inhale every day. That afternoon, I read for fun. It was the first time in almost eight years.

My point is, reading is important. For one thing, it’s the best way to grasp others’ perspectives and to gain an idea of what other people's’ lives are like. Also, movies create an entire world, and every emotion is clearly demonstrated. Movies strangle your imagination. Even though books are written by something else, you can still create or imagine your own parts of every story.