It's very true that our phones can be the next assistant to everything. However, ask yourself this question. When was the last tie you picked up a book? Not a phone that has an app with the book, a physical hardcover book! It's a shame that this generation is more about our phones than our perspective of the world through the knowledge passed down from amazing authors. If we could look back on the times we would sit in school, and read the silly things, yet it has deeper meanings.

Maya Angelou, Sharon Draper, J.K. Rowling, James Patterson. Do these authors sound familiar? These are authors, who sold bestselling books that connected to young readers. Through fantasy and real-life situations, we have read these authors and connected with their point of view through their creativity. Have you ever noticed how young readers have read books like crazy? A.R. books, Book Fair, this is all a child's dream, and the foundation would be the books.

There is a low amount of young people who read. If anything, young people in high school are forced to read, without the passion or enjoyment of it. Teachers would assign students to read, and students become bored, and never get the chance to read books for entertainment. It's crazy, sad, and confusing all at the same time. And in this generation, a book is all in our smartphones.

Let's fast forward to this time. We have our phones as our escape from reality. Escaping from the decisions we need to make for our future. Or facing our problems with school, work, and other extracurricular activities. However, have we ever considered, if we look into a book, sometimes our problems will be answered? Looking into authors who shared words of wisdom, the answers are there.

The first time I read Maya Angelou's "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings," was my freshman year in college. I read that book twice. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you stop reading, because there are spoilers ahead! Maya Angelou shares her story as a young girl. She was raped by a family member, and a few days later she told someone and the man who raped her was killed. In real life, she didn't speak for years, because she believed if she opened her mouth, someone she would love would get hurt. However, she finds hope in the books she read as she got older. She is known to be one of the most inspirational writers in history.

I find her story riveting because there was a time that I was the victim. I used to be bullied when I was younger, and I would shut my mouth before someone would torment me. I found books my escape to gaining my knowledge and going into my creativity side. I get inspired by people who overcome adversity because it tells readers they can overcome as well. This is to the millennials of this world. I understand that our phones are the gateway to escaping our problems of the future, but in order to do that, go in the past and read from what we've learned.