I believe in reading. The privilege of reading is one of the most neglected abilities we humans possess. Books, which at their core are simple words, have enormous strength. The stringing together of letters, words, phrases, and dialogue is an action that can, in turn, transform us entirely. C.S. Lewis stated the importance of reading when he said, "The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others. Reality, even seen through the eyes of many, is not enough. I will see what others have invented. Even the eyes of all humanity are not enough."

Studies have shown that 25 percent of students graduating from elementary school each year are unable to read properly for their grade level. This is a startling statistic, seeing as reading is the core of all education. Only one in five parents today read aloud to their young kids. This is detrimental to the children because parents are the most important reading role models for children and young people. Where schools may lack in teaching students to read, parents are the next best chance to teach their kids to read. Children who have their parents read aloud to them often at age three are proven to have a vocabulary months in advance to that of a five year old. It has also been proved that 10 to 16 year-olds who read for personal fun are shown to succeed in school in comparison to those students who don't, no doubt due to the beneficial effects of reading on the brain. Reading is the only extracurricular hobby that is proven to help in obtaining a job. However, our education is not the only area of our lives that is influenced by reading.

The cliché- reading allows us to go on a thousand adventures in just one lifetime- may not be as exaggerated as it seems. A study by Emory University uncovered a phenomenon referred to as grounded cognition. Wise men say that books can change us in a mental, spiritual, or emotional sense; now, scientists have discovered the by the process of grounded cognition, actual biological changes occur in our bodies when we read. “The neural changes that we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist,” says neuroscientist Gregory Berns from Emory. Simply stated, our body has been shown to biologically experience what the characters in our novels are experiencing. These changes have been shown to linger for almost a week after a novel or story has been finished. Apparently reading books really can change us.
One of history's most well-known figures- William Shakespeare- wrote in a style that has been proven by the University of Liverpool to increase the reader's brain activity tremendously by just reading it. One of Shakespeare's favorite style choices was his use of the method known as functional shift. This method is defined as "a shift in the use of a word to a new grammatical function, such as the use of the nouns contact and impact as verbs". Professor Philip Davis, from the University's School of English, stated, "The brain reacts to reading a phrase such as ‘he godded me' from the tragedy of Coriolanus, in a similar way to putting a jigsaw puzzle together. If it is easy to see which pieces slot together you become bored of the game, but if the pieces don't appear to fit... the brain becomes excited." Our normal brain activity is increased and our brain works in reverse order to better comprehend what the sentence says. The simple switching of the use of a word can spike brain activity.

Reading has the ability to not only change us academicall but also physically. How amazing is that? The simple act of reading words strung together on a piece of paper has the ability to permanently change the way our brain works in various sectors: writing, memory, problem-solving. Novels can even change us biologically. Of the countless things we take for granted every day, I believe reading is the most unappreciated.